


Tides

by Ruasah



Series: Tides [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22151752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruasah/pseuds/Ruasah
Summary: Addy thought she has seen it all. Growing up on the Grand Line sort of does that to you. But a single chance encounter with the Straw Hat Pirates changes everything. Setting Addy off on a journey to find the legendary One Piece she ends up with more than she could have ever dreamed of. Adventure, friendship, suffering, and loss. Together her and the Straw Hats go through it all on their journey towards the end of the Grand Line.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/OC
Series: Tides [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1594432
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	1. Tides Come in Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also being published on FF though it's much farther along. To catch up this is a part of a massive saga spanning the journies of the Straw Hats. From Syrup Village all the way to end. With a few twists and turns in between. One of the focuses being a slow burn OCxZoro relationship. If you don't like OC stories than this isn't going to be for you. But if you do then enjoy the journey. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

In the middle of East Blue rests an island with only one village. While there were many islands with only one village, this one was different. Surround by perfectly blue seas that somehow always remain calm, it never experienced anything more than the mildest of weather. The beaches glittered with golden sands, blowing palm trees that let out the faint smell of coconuts and dates, and the village parked just off the shore to avoid the high tide, nestled in the sand like everything else was all the perfect picture of serenity. Surrounded by high cliffs the island is only reachable through a stretch of beach with a small dock for ships. Yet there was only one village, scraping the edge of what could be called a town. With wooden buildings, cobbled streets, and for the most part friendly people, it was like your average village in East Blue. It was only when you looked closer that the problems stood out. The people though smiling also looked like they had seen better days. The beach was littered with shipwrecks, some old some new and all of them raided for all their value. Some were only frames left, ready to dissolve in the ocean.

There are worse things than being stuck in a village in the weakest sea in the world but for Adamaris, known as Addy to most people, it feels like absolute dread. Right now she would give anything to be out on the sea but without a crew, she was dead in the water. She signed swirling her glass around completely lost in her own thoughts.

"The right person has got to be in the Grand Line. It's my only chance now," she mumbled to herself. "Finding a crew dumb enough to go to the Grand Line is a challenge itself, finding a crew in East Blue, forget it. My best chance would be to head either for South or North and try to find someone there to take me. Though that means going over the Red Line which is almost impossible. And passage to the Grand Line is expensive. Pirates won't take anyone and no one else will go. If I access the family funds, then She will find me. Lucky I ended up here. Got to love traders and the odd stops that they make." She drained her glass and signaled to the barkeep for another.

Paisley was the owner of the only inn and therefore also the only tavern in the village. With her bright red hair and freckles, she stood out in a crowd. Always dressed in something green and with an impish smile, Paisley gave the feeling that if you messed with her you would regret it. The tavern potion was large enough to hold at least two dozen people, though it rarely got that full. Tables were strewn about in no particular pattern, looking like they were cobbled together from driftwood. Behind the bar were the various bottles and brews, shelves recently full due to the supply ship coming in. Signs from the various shipwrecked ships lined the walls. Paisley was a bit of a collector.

"I will probably end up taking the next ship out of here than ditch them before they make me pay for the ride. Dishonest I know but I don't have much of a choice." Addy groaned burying her head in her hands. She was on the side of being just tipsy enough to almost be drunk which for her was a rarity. Around this time she was usually completely plastered. "Drunk, drunk is good."

"Whatever you say, Addy, need another?" Paisley asked. She had gotten used to Addy drunken ramblings. Once she got tipsy, Addy would just start speaking whatever came to her head.

"I thought I had been here long enough for you to know my answer already," she replied another glass already being poured for her. "How much do I owe you?"

"Not a single beli, I thought you have been here long enough to figure that out."

"Please, I do feel bad for drinking until I basically pass out each night."

"You saved my kid, you could drink the entire stock and I would still serve you the next day. Plus right now you're the only one that is keeping most of us in business." Bandits had been plaguing the island, robbing it for all that its worth, which wasn't much. Rumors of treasure brought them here and they apparently won't leave until they find it, making the lives of the people miserable in the meantime. At least until Addy came along.

"Any potential customers?" Paisley asked.

"Not unless a bunch of morons decide to show up randomly. The merchant is leaving in like a week or so. Closest job as far as I know."

"MEAT," someone screamed as they ran through the door. Everyone in the tavern turned towards the intruder, prepared for the bandits. Wearing a straw hat, red vest, and short blue pants, he sat down and looked like he was about to start eating the table. They were new; the bandits would have invaded. A guy with a really long nose and really black, poofy hair chased after him and sat down with a huff. What caught everyone's attention, however, the next person who walked in. Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro.

"Guess people weren't actually lying when they said he carried three katana," Addy whispered.

"I would not mind seeing at least one of his swords in action," Paisley whispered back.

"Agreed," though Addy was suspicious, he was not someone to be messed with at least as far as the rumors said. Not that she put much stock into them, but it pays to be careful and looks can be deceiving. The last person to come in was a girl with bright orange hair and she looked pissed.

"LUFFY," she screamed before conking the straw hat kid on the head.

"OW, Nami, that hurt." The table dissolved into bickering as Paisley who was probably the first to recover from the guests wandered over and asked what they wanted. Addy kept one eye on them, in case they were trouble. She drained her glass and poured herself another, Paisley was kind enough to leave the bottle.

There were only a few people in here. Besides Addy, there was the old fisherman whose name changed every time Addy talked to him. The group playing cards in the corner and the merchant of the week who was trying to sell stuff that no one really wanted. Hadley, Paisley's daughter was running around somewhere as well. Cute kid but always getting underfoot.

After they ordered what seemed like every kind of meat and hard liquor possible, much to the chagrin of Nami who managed to look both angry and amused, Paisley left to go tell the cook. Hadley decided to come out from her hiding spot, which Addy still hasn't figured out and question the new people.

"Who are you guys?" she asked in her endearing tone. She was the sweetest kid basically a clone of her mother. Hoping they weren't the violent type of people. Addy prepared to jump in case of the worst but the straw hat guy… Luffy just laughed.

"We're pirates," he laughed grabbing the food that Paisley was just putting down. Man he could eat. Thank the stars the cook was fast. "That's Nami, Usopp, and Zoro." Pointing to each of them in turn, in between shoving food in his mouth. "And I am Luffy."

"Wow, where are you guys going…"

"To the Grand Line." Huh, that was interesting, Addy thought. They were heading the same direction that she was. Perhaps it would be worth something to travel with them. At least until she got to the Grand Line. "I am going to be King of the Pirates." And that idea just died… Addy chocked on her drink. She covered up with a cough though she could feel Zoro glance at her.

There was no way that spindly punk was going to be King of the Pirates, she thought. He would die way before he reached Raftel. Ocean, before he even made it to the Grand Line.

"Really because that is where Addy is from. She has been looking for a way to go home," Hadley stated. Time for an exit strategy. Skipping the glass, Addy just drained the bottle before Hadley finished her story about how Addy rescued her from the hands of the bandits. Addy did not like attention at all. Makes it harder to hide from certain people. She figured she would disappear until the pirates decided to leave the bar then come back and sneak into her room. Work things out in the morning after the hangover. She was about to get up when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder. She turned and cursed her luck.

"Oi, where do you think you're going Sweetie?" a rough voice said. "We never paid you back for what you did to our mates this morning." Dagmar and his cronies were here. You would think after the last several times he would learn not to fight Addy. Well, fight in the loosest sense, in order to fight you have to actually manage to hit your opponent. With all the talk of the Grand Line and Pirate King Addy had been distracted and completely missed them coming in. The drinking did not help either which was probably the major reason she missed them coming in entirely. All eyes were on her now. She was hoping to pass the defeat of bandits off as a children's lie but it looked like it would not be the case. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zoro reaching for his swords and Luffy pulling his arm back as if to punch someone, which would be insane considering the distance between him and the bandits. She laughed. If they think they can take these guys on before she can finish them off they have another thing coming.

She stepped on Dagmar's foot before elbowing him in the stomach sending him to the ground. Sensing two of his henchmen come at her from behind, she quickly rotated to face them. A large crack echoed in the room as she sent the two guys flying with large gashes in their chest. Her whip in hand now she wrapped up one of the goons arms and sent him crashing into his mates, now lying in a heap on the floor. A few more quick strikes ensured that they would not get up again.

The whip made out of some sort of black leather, shined in the light and was about as long as two of her. Ducking a sword slash before coiling her whip around the attacker's legs also sent him into the growing pile. The two guys left standing looked at her nervously. She cracked her whip in the air and they flinched, backing away from her as much as possible. Flicking her whip she wrapped up one guy and spinning him like a top while smashing the hilt into the other guy's head before he could blink.

"You think you guys would learn by now," she said. "What is this the 20th time now? You seriously have to pick up some new moves or something. This is embarrassing for everyone." She wrapped her whip in a coil and placed it on her right hip. "At least I improved my time. Got it down from a minute to 50 seconds. Well until next time guys." She could feel the pirate's eyes on her, two in shock, one in surprise and slight admiration and one in excitement. The rest of the patrons had returned to what they were doing, this was becoming a nightly event. Another reason she needed to leave. Soon enough they would start sending out the stronger guys, the ones that she couldn't take down on her own. Well while she was drunk that is.

As she walked outside there was a warm breeze blowing. She turned towards the beach heading down a path well worn by footprints. The stars were out tonight, the moon bright. Out here it was quieter; most of the people were home getting ready to sleep. She was surprised to hear footsteps, turning to look for the source of the sound and almost ran into Luffy who was standing right behind her. Wearing possibly the biggest grin, he pointed at her chest.

"You will be our new nakama." She stood there trying to connect her brain to her mouth.

"What? Why?" she replied.

"Because you're cool." If that was the only explanation needed.

"Umm no… I don't think so," She muttered but apparently he didn't hear her. He just grabbed her arm and started dragging her back inside, with a surprising amount of strength for someone so scrawny.

Next thing she knew she was seated in a chair looking at the others with various expressions, mostly amused.

"She is our new nakama," he stated before continuing to eat by the shovel full. "That's Nami…."

"Yeah, I caught who all of you were earlier…" she said. "Look I don't know if you know who I am…"

"Addy right?" Nami asked. She nodded, no point in lying now. "Apparently you are from the Grand Line."

"Yes, and before you ask no, I don't know how to get there. This is my first time out of the Grand Line."

Nami narrowed her eyes. "Damn I was hoping you would. Wait… can't you enter the same way you came out?"

Addy laughed, "Absolutely no chance unless you want to end up dead at the bottom of Ocean." She thought about the massive current that brought her here. Royally screwed would not begin to cover what would happen to anyone who was not a skilled helmsman if they should enter the current.

Nami huffed. "Do you at least know your way around the Grand Line?" She sounded like she was trying to bargain with Addy, or trying to recruit her. Either way, it's not going to work.

"I am no navigator of course but I can guide the ship through Ocean if need be," Addy said.

"You're a helmsman?"

"Mate I am most likely the best helmsman you will ever meet."

"Great!" Luffy said. "The Pirate King needs the best crew." Addy rolled her eyes. Zoro glared at her like she had offended him deeply while Nami looked suspicious. Usopp just seemed nervous and kept glancing around like someone was going to come out an attack them. With the other patrons tossing the bandits out, Addy doubted that would happen.

"I don't know… how good of a helmsman can you be." Nami asked.

"You'll see how good I am once I get your ship past the currents surrounding the island."

"What?"

"You saw coming in how the shore is mostly rocky with large cliffs and that there was only this tiny stretch of beach where you could dock."

They all nodded.

"Well due to the nature of the currents surrounding this island, one can't actually leave the way they came, otherwise you will end up smashed against the rocks."

"Your joking…" Nami replied dubiously.

"Actually it is quite well known, I am surprised you don't know about it."

"Wait," Usopp asked. "So why do these buildings have names on them? Or the bar?" He pointed towards the bar, where the name Titanic, though faded was clearly legible.

"All the buildings here are made out of shipwrecks," Addy replied. They all stared at her.

"All of…" Ussop suddenly looked terrified though he started covering it up with an elaborate story about a shipwreck, treasure, and three ducks. They all ignored him except for Luffy who seemed absolutely fascinated.

"Ask anyone around here," Addy stated. "Now, of course, I will be willing to guide your ship out for a nominal fee…"

"Out of the question." Nami slammed her fist on the table making everything rattle. "There is no way I am going to fall for this."

"Nami," Usopp said interrupting his own story or perhaps he finished, Addy wasn't paying much attention to anything. "Think about this. How else are we supposed to get off the island?" Nami hesitated slightly but still looked unsure.

"Don't believe me then. Talk to the townsfolk. Start with Paisley, she is the one who owns this place." She pointed to Paisley who just shook her head fondly at her. "I will be around the village if you change your mind." Addy got up and headed for the stairs. Forget the beach, bed is where she was headed. She could feel a headache rising and needed sleep.

"Oi, where are you going?" Luffy called as if he was surprised. Maybe she wasn't the only one who wasn't paying attention.

"Um, Luffy, I don't think she will be joining us," Usopp said.

"Yes, she will…"

She left before she could hear the rest of the conversation. Paisley looked at her worried. She smiled and signaled that she was going to bed. Climbing up the stair to where the rooms were, avoiding the creaks in the wood, she went to her room at the end of the hall.

The room was large, enough to fit several people. With a queen-sized bed and its own toilet, it was perhaps the nicest room in the inn. Made out of some of the nicer wood, there was a window looking over to the sea. Addy stared watching the waves for a little while before drawing in the pretty blue curtains.

She took off her blue tunic and rolled down her stockings. Grabbing a pair of shorts she slipped those on, along with a grey cami. Placing her whip on the bedside table, within easy reach, she opened the curtains letting the moonlight flow in and lied down in bed on top of the covers. Normally she would prefer sleeping outside but she already got asked enough questions from the villagers. Don't want to draw anymore suspicion.

Taking the necklace that she normally kept hidden under her clothes, she held it up in the moonlight. It was a simple thing, a white seashell-shaped like a fan. Addy opened it up, revealing it to be a locket. There was only one picture though there was room for two. The picture was of two smiling girls. One was streamlined, though clearly fit, with long black hair, pale skin, and ocean green eyes, looking bright. Addy smiled as she looked at herself. It felt like it had been forever, though the picture was only a year old. The other was darker, slightly shorter, and more muscular with brown hair and eyes that looked like chocolate. They were standing on a ship, Ocean behind them and their arms around each other. Addy traced her finger over the dark skin girl tears forming in her eyes.

"I promise Riley. I will make it happen. Even if it costs me everything."


	2. Tides Come In Part 2

She woke up with a pounding headache like drums vibrating in her head. Grabbing the glass of water and the pills that Paisley had been leaving out for her almost every night since she got here she downed it and then poured herself another from the pitcher. Groaning into her pillows, she waited until the pain would go away, the water would do that, the pills were just window dressing. She wondered how late in the day it was.

Managing to stumble out of bed she looked out the window to see that the sun was almost in the middle of the sky. Better than expected then. She put back on the clothes she wore the previous night, not caring. Walking down the stairs she could see Paisley had already brought out her usual, broiled salmon and dried seaweed along with her favorite kind of white wine. Paisley was probably in the back doing inventory. From the commotion, Addy heard last night it seemed like the pirates had almost eaten the entire stock which would be absolutely absurd. She glanced around and saw that the pirates were nowhere to be found. It struck her that she would probably hear them before she saw them. Most likely back at their ship or going around town. Chances are she would run into them again when she went out. Perhaps she would go to the beach; a swim might do her some good. Clear her head a little, it's been a while since she could think clearly.

Addy felt like she was living in a perpetual fog. Grabbing the bottle she hesitated slightly before pouring herself a glass. She knew exactly why she felt this way, but it was better than the alternative.

Just as she was about to starting eating, she heard a loud crash coming from outside and a woman screamed. Addy jumped up in a flash and raced through the door. The bandits decided to come by… again. This time there were a lot of them though, at least 20. There was some she did not even recognize. The women turned out to be Jacinth, the owner of the flower shop next door. She was lying on the ground, shielding her arm. Addy could see blood streaming down. Her attacker had his sword raised, ready to run Jacinth through. So Addy did what any reasonably smart person would do, launching herself at him knocking him into two of the others and sending them crashing into the ground.

"Starting the party without me?" she asked twirling her whip. Addy did not give them a chance to respond, just leaped in. These guys may have been stronger than her but she had speed on her side, despite her delayed reactions. Dodge, pivot, weave, she managed to evade the blows making them hit each other in some cases. Her whip was like a blur sending men back with gashes and howls of pain. Loud cracks entered through the air causing some of them to cover their ears. She was like flowing water, dancing around them, untouchable.

"ADDY!" she heard a scream pierce the air. Dagmar was holding Hadley by the collar of her shirt. Tears were trickling down her face and her arms and legs were cut up. Addy didn't think but moved. Using some guy's head as a launchpad she jumped towards Dagmar. Wrapping her whip around his upper torso and arm, she twisted her body dragging the leather across his skin. It was like sandpaper being rubbed against flesh skin at the speed of sound.

"Lautan Pakem," Addy yelled out. Dagmar dropped Hadley screaming in pain and she managed to catch Hadley before she hit the ground. "Kembali," Addy called, twisting her whip once again, at the same speed it uncurled around his body, leaving him a sobbing bloody mess on the ground.

"Hadley, you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, uh Addy what are you going to do now?" Her tears stopped but her lip was trembling. Thankfully her cuts were not that bad, though it still made Addy worried. She looked around her and swallowed. Addy was completely irrevocably surrounded. On her own, she would have been able to hold them off but with Hadley in her arms, there was no chance. Plus the lack of alcohol was starting to bother her, she could feel herself twitching. Even if she let Hadley go, there were going to catch her immediately.

"Hadley whatever you do don't get up okay," Addy said as the guys closed in around her. She kicked up some dust on the ground, blinding the men closest to her and she placed Hadley on the ground, before throwing herself over her, using her body as a shield.

"Now's our chance, get her men," one of the guys yelled. Addy sucked in as much breath as she could and prepared for the worst. Pain raced up her side as someone delivered a kick to her ribs than to her other side as well. Soon the pain was everywhere. Tasting dirt and blood all she could do was lie there. She just had to hold on long enough for them to get bored, then she can go curl up in a corner and die. Suddenly she couldn't breathe. Something was around her neck, choking her. Gasping she struggled as hard as she could, twisting and turning her neck trying to throw her attacker off while still covering Hadley. Something snapped and the pressure released. Taking a deep breath of sweet air, before her head was kicked to the ground. She saw multi-colored spots dancing in her eyes. The noise that was so loud was now only a dull roar. The smell of blood and dirt clogged her senses. There was no chance now. She was going to die here. Curling tighter around Hadley, she waited for it to be over, wanted it to be over.

"Gomu, Gomu No…" she heard and some of the pain stopped. Not daring to look up, she kept her head down. She heard what sound like several guys getting punched repeatedly, the clashing of swords, and… gunpowder. Perhaps she was kicked in the head too many times. It was a while before she noticed that there was no more pain coming, and everything was silent as well.

Taking her chances, she rolled over groaning with the effort, letting Hadley run into her mother's arms. Her vision was blurry but she could vaguely see that the bandits surrounded her, unconscious. A hand grasped her arm, and she formed a fist, prepared to punch the person.

"Relax," the voice said. The hand was calloused and the voice was gruff. Glancing at the direction of the voice all she could see was green. He took his other hand and gently unfurled her fist. She could offer no struggle, though she is not sure she wanted to.

"Zoro, be careful with her. She badly hurt," another voice called out. Female this time. Addy turned towards the voice but all she could see was the orange blur.

She felt two arms around her, one supporting her legs, the other her upper back. Addy was being carried bridal style. She knew he was walking from the way his body was moving but he was keeping her very still. Under normal circumstances, the guy would no longer be alive, but she decided to let it go this one time since they did just save her life. Pirates come in all shapes and sizes.

Closing her eyes, she just relaxed to the sway of his arms. Everything was numb, adrenaline was kicking in, the pain would come later. It wasn't until they placed her in the bed in her room did she realized he carried her into the tavern and into her room. He let her down softly as if she was something incredibly precious.

"Water," Addy called out hoarsely.

"Here," Nami said. Holding her head up, and bringing the water to her lips. Addy chugged four glasses down.

"You drink a lot," Zoro said. Addy would have rolled her eyes and offered a sarcastic comment but right now the fatigue was taking over and it was taking all her energy to remain awake.

"Oi, how she doing?" A new voice said.

"Luffy, be quiet," Nami answered. "Can't you see she is exhausted?"

"Did you find those cowards who ran off?" Zoro asked.

"No, they like disappeared into the trees," Luffy answered. Coming closer towards the bed, he looked over Addy, his usually jovial face worried.

"They know the forest pretty well," another voice echoed. Since all others were accounted for it must have been Usopp. "No tracks, not a clue as to where they could be."

Zoro grunted and turned back towards Addy who was now on her what had to be here 6th glass. Addy weakly grasped Nami's arm, signaling her to stop.

"What? Why did you save me?" She stuttered out. They only met her yesterday and she wasn't the most pleasant person. Nami helped her lay back down and all Addy wanted to do was sleep.

"We're nakama," Luffy said, the grin back on his face.

"Idiot... I am not your…" Addy did not get a chance to finish her statement. Sleep claimed her instead.

When she woke up it was dark, everything ached, her head was exploding, and her mouth felt like dirt. She was covered in bandages which hindered her movement even more. Groaning she tried to lift herself out of bed only to find a pair of hands helping her up. She glanced and saw it was Nami. Looking around the room, she could see that all the guys were asleep, in various positions that aren't exactly conducive to sleeping.

"Have you guys been up here the entire time?" Addy asked.

"Yep, Luffy insisted on staying and the rest of us followed suit," Nami answered.

"Well, that's different. Thank you for saving me."

"Oh don't worry about it, we would have done it for anybody." Somehow Addy felt like she was telling the truth. "Though I am going to charge you for it." Addy was not sure she was joking or not.

"It's not every day that you run into pirates that rescue people instead of killing them. Tell you what, however, since you did save my life, I will pilot your ship out of here. No cost. Once I feel better. That would do as payment." It was the least she could do. Perhaps it would give her a chance to get off the island.

"I think you will have a harder time getting off the ship than staying on." Nami brought up a glass of water and Addy took it sipping.

"That might not be a bad thing. Think I could convince your captain to let me stay on, at least until the next habitable island you get to."

"I don't see why not."

Addy sighed. Everything ached and hurt but at least she could see again. It would be a week at least until she was better. Less if she could get into the ocean. However, she was trembling and shaking as well and those weren't from the injuries.

"Nami in my pack there is a flask, can you…" She didn't need to finish her sentence; Nami got up and gave it to her. She unscrewed the lid and drained its contents. She should probably not be drinking right now, but it is the only way to make the shaking stop and to stop thinking and remembering. Addy placed it on the bedside table, feeling better in some ways, though way worse in others.

Now that she was no longer jittering and thinking about her next fix she felt like something was missing. A familiar weight was gone. Her whip was on the table, she was wearing another set of clothes, courtesy of Nami she hoped. She would patch up the ones that got ripped apart next time she got the chance. It was one of the few sets that she managed to keep when she got left here in East Blue. It would be an absolute nightmare to replace. She reached up to grab her locket and felt nothing there.

"NO!" she yelled, jumping out of bed, only to collapse on the floor, her body unable to handle her own weight. "It can't be gone."

Everyone else jumped awake as well, prepared for battle. When they saw her on the floor they relaxed though their curiosity was peaked.

"Addy? What's wrong?" Nami asked kneeling down next to her.

Addy grasped at her shoulders. "I had a locket around my neck. Silver, shaped like a seashell. Have you seen it?"

"No…"

"It must be somewhere… have to find it." Addy managed to get up and successful stand as she walked to the door.

"Hey, calm down," Usopp said. "You can get another one?"

"No I can't!" she yelled, turning towards him. She would get right in his face if she had the strength to move. "That locket is everything, my most precious treasure, and if I have to dig up every inch of this island with a rusty spoon to find it I will." Addy was heaving now, her whole body was trembling, for once not due to any lack of drink. The agitation was taking its toll and fear took over her eyes. She was clutching her chest, where it should be, digging her nails into her skin. It was starting to break under the pressure, blood tricking down. "I need to find it."

"The bandits took it," a small voice said. Addy turned and looked at the doorway, Hadley was standing right outside.

"What did you say, Hadley?" Addy asked shuffling towards her, grasping the door frame to keep herself upright.

"When the bandits were running off, I saw one of the guys carrying your necklace. The chain was broken though."

Addy thought how they could have gotten ahold of it. Then she remembered. The chocking... the struggle. She almost felt like crying. Collapsing against the wall, she placed her head in her hands and brought her knees up. There was no way she was getting it back. While she could take down most of the bandits, there was no way she could fight the leader or his lieutenant.

"We will find it," Luffy said. Apparently, she said something because he was kneeling beside her smiling.

"How?" Addy asked. "No one knows where they are. You could be wandering the mountains and forests for days. That is not even bringing up all the tunnels. Even if I did find them out of sheer dumb luck, I cannot defeat them."

"I will," Luffy replied. "They hurt you and no one hurts my nakama." At that moment she believed him. Not only about finding the locket, but what he had been saying since they first met. There was something about him, despite the fact that he looked like an overgrown child she could see something in his eyes. She looked at the others, Nami, who looked excited, at what Addy was unsure, Zoro, with a glint in his eyes as if happy for a chance to fight, and Usopp, who was pretending to be brave but she could see his legs shaking. And finally back to Luffy, with his broad grin and straw hat. Perhaps, he was the one. The one she promised to find for Riley and herself, so long ago. She might as well take the chance. There was only one way to find out.

"I don't know what I am thinking, perhaps my brain was rattled around too much." She took a deep breath as if to stabilize herself. "Alright, when do we leave?"


	3. Tides Come In Part 3

Five days. It was five days before they could leave and every hour felt like a century. Mostly because it took five days before Addy could walk around without falling over. The bandits did a number on her and she could still feel it in her movements. It would be awhile before she would be fully recovered but she could not afford to wait that long. Perhaps she could sneak a dip into some body of water once they set off. That would help things immensely.

Every moment she went without her treasure made her tense and agitated. She probably would have gone completely nuts if it wasn't for the Straw Hats. It was still a surprise that Luffy was the captain. She stared at them all slack-jawed when they told her and she had to ask three times to make sure.

They rarely left her alone, one of them was always with her. Usually, it was Nami, but the others came around every so often as well. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she enjoyed talking to them. It was really strange.

With Usopp, he was always spinning wild stories about the great adventures he had been in. Really drawn out elaborate tales, though she knew he was lying. Didn't stop her from getting invested however, he was a good storyteller, and it sounded like he had been doing this for a while. It distracted her for the most part, and she was grateful for that much at least.

Nami by far was the easiest to talk with, though that was not saying much. Apparently she was the navigator for the Straw Hats, though she was only working for them temporarily. Addy ignored that, she could tell from the way the crew interacted that she was far from temporary. From the way that she clicked with Addy, it was clear that she needed some girl on girl talk, and Addy happily obliged, it being awhile for her as well. It was nice to talk to someone who understood.

Zoro did not as much talk as drink with her, something else she was grateful for. Sometimes it was good to be with someone without actually talking, something that Zoro provided easily. He either spent his time sleeping, meditating, or training. Watching him train was like looking at a piece of art. Zoro was something to behold, though that could just be Addy's bias talking. She always did like the larger, more muscular guys. The fact that he was a swordsman took the cake.

Luffy… well, he was Luffy. Addy had no idea what to make of him. He wanted to be the Pirate King. His hat was his greatest treasure, something that Addy actually understood, and she was nakama, despite how many times she told him that their alliance was temporary, lasting until she got to the next island. He was always bouncing around, and when he wasn't eating, or trying to get her to eat which he said "would make her feel better," he was rambling about something else. Addy had seen little children that were calmer than he was, but it was part of his charm, and Addy found herself looking forward to his visits despite Nami's various warnings. The Straw Hats were an odd bunch, yet they all seem to fit together.

She has grown so accustomed to them, that in the rare moments when she was actually alone, it felt strange. Like they should be here by her side. Or maybe her by theirs. Addy shook off this idea. It probably because she has spent pretty much the last year alone. With good reason. Nakama, friends, family, it's a thing of the past. Something to be buried and not spoken of again. There is too much pain with all that, but for now, the Straw Hats were good company at least.

Paisley and Hadley also visited from time to time as well. They were a nice break from the chaos. They seemed to get along with the Straw Hats. Paisley took the time to show Nami around the town while Luffy and Usopp entertained Hadley. It was only because of Paisley that Addy managed to hold it together for as long as she did, by providing her with copious amounts of alcohol to keep the jitters down.

It was the morning of the sixth day, and Addy was ready to leave. Hopefully, they would be lucky and find the bandit camp rather quickly. Shouldn't be too hard to find a large group of people. At least that is what Addy hoped for; knowing her luck it would take a month. Luffy did not seem like the most patient person… and that was the biggest underestimation she ever made. Luffy was not patient at all. So for all their sakes, she hoped that they found them quickly. Considering the fact that the bandits managed to attack them almost every other day or so, it couldn't be that far away, factoring in their travel time. And they always came from the same general direction, South, where most of the mountains and the thick forest lie. Addy figured that was the place that they would most likely be hidden.

Nami agreed with her as well, also saying that they were probably also located near a river, thinking that they probably sailed upstream. Unlike her, Nami actually remembered that one could sail a ship up the river but you had to either be incredibly skilled or incredibly lucky. Addy hoped it was the latter in the bandit's case. Plus they would need a water source. Addy was grateful to her, two minds were better than one apparently.

While she wished she was a bit more prepared to fight, that would not stop her. That locket was her treasure. The world would end before she would let that go. Slipping on one of her more battle-ready outfits, though all this meant was that it would not get in her way while fighting. It was a dark blue tank top with rolling waves embroidered on the front. She also donned on light blue leggings, one that was immune to rips and tears, as well as tannish boots that she could quickly slip off if need be. Addy hated shoes, hated the feeling of her feet being confined but if they were going to go hiking through the wilderness she was going to need them. Her tan belt which she equipped her whip fit snugly around her waist. Picking up her bag with everything she needed for the trip, she felt at ease. She was ready. Minus the fact that she was still having trouble moving quickly.

The Straw Hats agreed to meet her downstairs and for a moment she was actually looking forward to going on an adventure with them. It's been a long time since she has been on an adventure. But the gravity of the situation hit her and she opened the door and left the room, walking carefully so as not to aggravate any of her injuries.

When she got downstairs Luffy was all raring to go and frankly Addy was right with him.

"Yosh lets go," he called out causing the other patrons to stare at him like he was some kind of crazy person. Which to be fair he was.

"Is he always like this?" Addy whispered to Nami.

"You have no idea," she whispered back. Apparently, in that brief time, Luffy had already run out the door leaving the four of them.

"Should we go find him?" Addy asked the group.

"Nah he'll be fine," Zoro said. Addy looked at him like he had grown two extra heads. "He does this a lot. He will catch up later." With that Zoro left as well, leaving Addy to wonder what exactly she had gotten herself into.

"Idiots," Nami said. Nami turned towards her. "So where is the nearest river?"

"Follow me," Addy said walking out the door, but not before waving goodbye to Paisley. Paisley walked up to hear and embraced her in a hug. Startled, Addy hugged back.

"You be careful now," Paisley said. "Don't do anything too mind-boggling stupid"

"No promises," Addy replied.

Paisley let out a laugh and turned towards all three of them "Keep each other safe, I would like to see all of you come back with your limbs attached."

After an exchange of promises, including a couple to Hadley that they will be back, the three of them walked down the main street, passing by the rest of the village including the market place, where Nami stopped to pick up more supplies. Addy wondered just how much meat they actually needed.

"Are you sure all this is necessary?" Addy asked. "How much do you expect to eat?"

"With Luffy around, you can never be too careful," she responded, which made Addy more nervous than she should be. Leaving the outskirts of town behind them, they walked closer to the forest. A river snaked itself out of the trees and made its way to the coast. They decided to stop and wait by the river for the Zoro and Luffy to catch up. Addy hoped they would not take that long. Kicking off her shoes, she sat down on the grass and let her feet dangle in the water. Nami sat next to her. Usopp was looking around as if something were about to jump out and eat them which Addy started to figure was a pretty common look on him.

"So Addy, umm there is not like any danger in the forest, right?" Usopp stuttered.

"Not as far as I know. I haven't been here all that long to find out. Most dangerous thing we will run into will be the bandits," Addy answered.

"Ah of course, well bandits are nothing compared to me. When I was seven there were this massive bandit camps, housing thousands. All I had was my trusty slingshot but that did not stop me from storming in and…"

"So how long do you think we have to wait?" Addy asked Nami. Usopp was still rambling in the background but she was tuning most of it out. Apparently Nami was doing the same.

"You are assuming that they are ever going to find us," she answered dryly.

"Honestly that wasn't the answer I was hoping for." Addy laid herself down on the grass and watched the clouds roll by. Each moment they were not looking for the bandits was a moment wasted.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, Zoro and Luffy appeared with Luffy carrying meat in each of his hands.

"Took you long enough," Addy snapped frustrated.

"Well it's your fault for giving bad directions," Zoro argued back.

"Directions? All I told you to do was follow me. How could that be… You know what never mind let's just get going."

"Let's go," Luffy yelled. But Nami managed to grab his shoulder before he ran off again.

"Right, let's just keep quiet and follow me so the bandits don't ambush us."

"Ambush, you never said anything about an ambush," Usopp yelled. "I think my Don't-Go-In-That-Forest disease is acting up."

Addy brought her hands to her face and sighed. What was she doing? She barely knew these people. How strong could they be really? Well, Zoro was, but Luffy? He looked like he never been in a fight in his life. Not to mention Nami and Usopp. Nami did not seem like a fighter and Ussop looked like he was going outside for the first time. She wasn't even sure what their skills were.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and removed her hands. Luffy was looking at her with the stupidest grin on his face, but she couldn't help but smile back. It was contagious. Perhaps that was his power. He just made everyone his friend.

"Lead the way, Addy," he said full of confidence. And so she did, they crossed the threshold into the forest, following the river. It was the largest river on the island. While the currents surrounding the island would normally not allow for a ship to sail up, every once in a while, they aligned perfectly. At least that is what Paisley told her. Addy suspected that's how the bandits got here in the first place.

Most of the walk was silent, with the occasional chatter from the Straw Hats. About the Grand Line, bandits, and just general other oddball stuff. Addy occasionally interjected in the conversation and laughed along with them. Nami seemed frustrated with their antics but could not help laughing now and again, while Zoro occasionally cracked a smile and laughed at the opportune moments. For once in a long time Addy at peace. If only she had her locket then things would be fine, more than fine. It would be great.

Eventually, night fell and it became too dark to see where they were going. Addy was reluctant to stop, but she knew that they had too. It was one thing fighting bandits during the day, but at night on their home turf, Addy wasn't willing to take that chance. Luffy and Zoro were more than happy to continue walking until they found them but the three of them managed to talk them down.

"Ah, Addy don't you want to find your treasure?" Luffy asked in a pleading tone. He had been trying to convince her for the past half hour. She was sitting by the river, feet dangling in, while Nami and Usopp were setting up the fire to cook the fish she was going to catch soon. There is no point in wasting supplies being so close to a food source.

"Of course I do Luffy, but I also don't want to die stupidly trying to get it. We need to be smart about this. Otherwise, I might never get it back."

"Those bandits did not seem that tough, you managed to handle yourself against them," Zoro answered. Addy wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Judging by the way Zoro was looking at her with some respect in his eyes, it seemed like a compliment.

"Don't kid yourself. The ones that we have been fighting have basically been the underlings. The real threat stays at their hideout."

"Meaning?" Zoro asked, looking at her intensely.

"Well, their leader is a man known as the Bandit King. I don't actually know his real name but apparently his bounty is 16,500,000."

"That's more than Kuro!" Usopp said. Addy had no idea who Kuro was but from the way he was shaking, he wasn't the nicest of people.

"However he is not the only threat. His lieutenants are also very powerful," Addy said.

"So all I have to do is kick the bandit king's ass?" Luffy asked. That wasn't the reaction Addy was expecting.

"Well… I guess so. I mean I assume as there leader he would go through all the treasure."

"Let's go then." Luffy made a move to dash off… again, but Nami grabbed ahold of him."

"Remember dumbass. We are waiting here until morning so that we don't walk into a trap," Nami said.

"But it's so boring here!"

As the group started to bicker Addy noticed that Usopp and Nami basically had the fire set up. All that was needed was the food. Standing up, Addy stretched out her arms and then took a short running leap into the river. She heard shouting, something about injuries in the like but that did not matter. Right now she was free.

Swimming in the water almost like a seal, she was twisting and turning. Enjoying the sensation of the water flowing across her body it was slick against her skin. Her injuries were no longer bothering her. Movement was completely unhindered. Gliding across the bottom of the river it was almost like she was dancing. Surrounded by fish of various shapes and sizes she just started grabbing those that looked the most delicious along with the occasional crab or two. Hoping that someone up there was catching all these she continued throwing them up aiming so that they would land on the shore. She even managed to wrangle one that was her size. It was no problem for her. Here she was the apex predator, the queen of the water. Even Sea Kings had to be careful.

She wanted to stay down here for a while and relax. It had been a long time since she had a swim. But she knew that the others were waiting. Surfacing, she swam to the shallower part and walked up back to the shore. The water rolled off of her and she was basically dry in an instant. Her clothing was also dry as soon as it hit the air. Sea King leather did wonders when it was properly treated. She saw that they were already cooking the fish, though if they kept looking at her than it was going to be more ash than fish.

Usopp and Nami were looking at her terrified. Zoro more curious than anything though he did have a grip on his sword. Not a good sign. Luffy, on the other hand, looked at her in absolute amazement like stars were sparkling in his eyes as if she came down from the heavens riding a rainbow. They continued looking at her, even as she rifled in her bag for her stash of alcohol, courtesy of Paisley. After taking a long drink, she turned towards Nami and Usopp.

"You know if you keep that on the fire much longer it's going to turn into dust."

Nami yelped and took the fish out from the fire. Usopp continued to stare at her wide-eyed. Addy rolled her eyes.

"Okay is there a problem here? Do I have a giant bug crawling on me? Did the world end and I haven't noticed?

"You were in the river for half an hour," Zoro stated bluntly. Addy looked around and everyone basically confirmed what he said. Shit, she was in trouble now. Her intention was only to stay in a few minutes. She was hoping that they would never find out. Always caused problems when someone did. Right now she had to think of some excuse quickly.

"Well, you see I…"

"Hah look at what we found here boys." Addy praised her luck. Well, luck in the minimalist sense. They were surrounded by Dagmar and his goons, a lot of his goons but at least she didn't have to explain why she can breathe underwater. Apparently Dagmar was still talking though not for much longer as Luffy got up and punched the guy.

Now, this normally would not be strange, but Addy stood there dumbfounded for a moment before joining the fight. Zoro got into as well and the three of them were fighting the bandits off. Nami and Usopp were hiding behind a rock, with Usopp occasionally taking potshots at the bandits from what looked like a slingshot. All of this could be considered normal, except for one tiny detail. Luffy apparently can stretch. Whatever devil fruit he had eaten, it was certainly a weird one.


	4. Tides Come In Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am not overly fond of this chapter. Particularly how it ends. If there are any overly OCC moments than let me know. As always please review. It lets me know what I can improve on.

Boy, when Addy thought that Luffy couldn't fight she was dead wrong. The guy fought like a mad man. Taking out guys faster than she was. Zoro was also doing well, he wasn't even using all three of his swords and yet guys were still falling over. Addy thought that they would get in her way, a whip isn't the best weapon for cooperative fighting, but actually they managed to sync it rather well. They essentially split the bandits into three groups and Luffy, Zoro and her each managing one, with Usopp providing support. It was incredibly useful to have a sniper. Her injuries had only slightly slowed her down. There were a few more close calls than she would have liked. She managed to take down the last of her guys around the same time that Luffy and Zoro did as well. They were lucky they were only minions. If the real threat came, well Addy was not sure that would have made it out as well as they did.

Panting slightly she looked around at the unconscious bodies. Usopp jumped up from hiding behind the rock.

"Yosh great work guys. All thanks to my fantastic leadership. Why those bandits are nothing. Compared to…" Usopp rambled. Zoro sheathed his swords and sat back down. Luffy had already started eating while Addy was still coming to terms with the situation.

"Nami?" Addy said. She turned to look towards her. "Did they leave behind any footprints?"

"What? Yeah towards the West."

"Great." Addy dashed off in that direction, following the footprints that were clearly marked out. The others followed swiftly as well.

"Hey, what happened to waiting for the morning?" Nami asked.

"No point now," Addy replied. "We know what direction they came from and anyone close by would have heard our little tiff. They would all be bearing down on us at the river. Now we have a better chance of actually finding them." Assuming, of course, they came directly from there hideout, and they didn't take a roundabout route, but Addy could hope.

Addy raced through the forest, following the footprints through the rugged terrain. However, she found herself unconsciously slowing down in order for Luffy to run with her, side by side. Heck, he was even slightly ahead of her. She knew she could go faster than this, but for some reason, she felt it was important to keep the pace. Unfortunately, that meant Luffy was the one leading them and it was only when they were completely and hopelessly lost did Addy figure out that was a bad thing.

"Idiot, all you had to do was follow the footprints and now look where we are?!" Nami yelled.

"What? I was only going where Addy was running off to."

They had managed to find themselves in a glade of sorts, after running for a while. It was now late at night; Addy could tell by how high the moon was in the sky. The animals were making various noises, though they seemed to go silent with Nami yelling. Addy wondered how the bandits have not found them, with all the noise they were making.

"You complete moron!" Nami whacked him on the head, creating a rather large bump. "The footprints, she was following those, not running off in some random direction. And now look at where we are. Completely, hopelessly, fricken lost."

"Does this happen a lot?" Addy asked Usopp who she was standing beside. Zoro had fallen asleep next to a rock and Addy had a feeling that not even an army could wake him up.

"All the time," Usopp said completely deadpanned.

Addy signed and sat herself down next to a tree. There was no chance of finding the bandits now that they got themselves completely turned around. Hell, it would take a miracle to find the village again. She ran her fingers through her hair. In hindsight, it was rather dumb to go follow footprints in the dark but it was either that or stay by the river and get ambushed again. At least now the bandits had no idea where they were. She thought about bringing that up but didn't want to gain Nami wrath. She was still concentrated on yelling at Luffy.

Honestly, the best thing for them to do would probably wait until morning and follow their own footprints back. Apparently she said this because Nami looked at her as if she was the sun, and set Luffy to do guard duty, for getting them lost. Addy almost wished she was on guard. It would give her time to clear her head. Instead, she settled herself down near the base of the tree and closed her eyes, willing sleep to overtake her.

…

It was the light of the sun that woke her up, which was a surprise. She half expected Luffy to be making a racket, but there he was sprawled out on the grass, snoring away. Nami and Usopp were also still asleep, not that far away from Luffy. Addy got up, took a drink from her flask and stretched, working out the kinks in her back. Looking around she could she where there they came in from, there chaotic footprints leading out of the glade. Addy was half tempted to follow them and even took a few steps to do so when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She turned to find herself staring at a pair of grass green eyes on a rather stern face. She gave a quick smile though on the inside she was a ball of nerves.

"Zoro," she said, keeping her voice low to avoid waking the others up. "Is there something you need?" He let go of her arm but kept his eyes on her. She wandered back closer to the middle of the grove and leaned back against a tree. Zoro relaxed somewhat but he was still on edge.

"What are you?" he asked.

'Crap,' Addy thought. There was no avoiding this is there. She really, really wanted to avoid this, but from the look on him, she had no choice.

"Well… you see, this may be hard to take in but…"

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Ussop asked. Apparently the rest were awake now as well. Great, now she had a full audience. Addy was looking for any way out of this.

"Look this isn't what you think," Addy said. Well to be fair she had no idea what they thought and from the skeptical look Zoro was giving her, he wasn't buying what she was saying. All that man had to do was glare at her and she was already a nervous wreck.

"I'm hungry," Luffy said breaking the tension. They all turned to look at him. He was sitting on the floor with his hand on his stomach. "Let's eat."

It did not take long to have a fire set up and they were eating some of the food they packed which many consisted of dried meats including fish, bread, and fruit they got from the surrounding woods.

"Let's go. I need to kick the bandit's king ass," Luffy said. He started walking in a random direction but it was Addy who stopped him this time by lightly wrapping her whip around his arm.

"Instead of going off half-cocked, how about we let the actual navigator lead," Addy said. Not that it would take a navigator to follow the footprints but with Luffy with them, it would be better to be safe than sorry. Judging by the relieved looks Usopp and Nami were giving her it appeared they agreed with her sentiment. She unwrapped her whip from Luffy when he nodded in agreement, and that is how they ended up following Nami tracing their steps. Apparently they had traveled a lot further than she thought. She would congratulate Usopp and Nami for keeping up later. After an hour though she was starting to get worried. Addy was in the back, making sure that the others, Luffy, would not wander off, but now she jogged to the front where Nami was holding a compass in one hand.

"Nami," she whispered sofly, not wanting the others to overhear. "Are we lost?" Nami turned towards her with a strained smile.

"No we are just temporarily misplaced," she answered. So they were hopelessly lost then. Addy looked around bewildered. It was only a regular forest. It wasn't thick or anything, the light of the sun could be seen shining through the leaves. The undergrowth was easy to go through and birds were chirping and if Addy listened closely she could hear the sounds of other wildlife as well, even with all the noise they were making. Everything smelled earthy and slightly sweet as the flowers were in bloom. So why were they so hopelessly lost? Addy looked at the ground and she could see footprints but even though it was dark last night Addy was pretty sure that they never went this way. After all, she thinks she would have recognized the glowing blue flowers, even if they were running.

She walked back towards the rest of the group, Usopp and Luffy were chatting about something or another though it apparently had to deal with trees coming alive and a cannon, while Zoro was looking around warily. Addy walked towards him and he grunted but moved slightly so there was room for them to walk side by side.

"Look I know you don't trust me," she said. He gave her the 'no shit' look. She ignored it. "But I need to know, have you noticed anyone or anything following us?"

"Why ask me?" he said.

"You're a swordsman, you have the best senses out of all of us. If anyone is going to sense if anything is off, it's going to be you." He looked at her slightly surprised and a slight blush across his cheeks though Addy chalked that up to the warm weather. He shook his head and turned to face forward again. Damn

She was hoping that someone with a Devil Fruit was following them and messing with their minds. Not that would make this situation any better, only less embarrassing when telling it again. Because otherwise they got lost on their own accord. This is bad. If they are lost in the woods, there was not a chance they would find her locket. What the hell is going on?

Once again she said that out loud because her companions had stopped and are now staring at her.

"Addy?" Luffy asked. "Are you okay?" He looked concerned, which was odd considering his jovial expression. Addy at that moment wanted nothing more than to put the smile back on his face, but she squashed that feeling down without remorse or sympathy.

"Sorry, it's just odd isn't it? We have been following these footprints for hours now but for the life of me I cannot remember passing through this area last night."

"Now that you say that I can't either," Usopp said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Right, but there are definitely footprints and from what I heard in the village this forest isn't cursed or magical or anything. The only other option is that all of us are complete morons or these-"

"These are not our footprints," Nami answered for her.

Usopp jumped up in alarm, hiding behind Luffy and his whole body shaking, "W-w-whose are they then?"

"Bandits, if we are lucky," Addy replied. "If we are unlucky then it's the miners who work in the mountains. Both are possibilities since we have been actually heading up since we left the grove." Which should have been the first sign to be fair; the river was down the mountains not up. Or at least Addy thought it was.

"Why are bandits lucky? Are you nuts? You're not having a mental breakdown, are you?"

"Bandits are lucky because that is one step closer to me getting my locket back, and you getting off this island and on your way to the Grand Line. If it is the miners than it means more running around."

"What are we going to do?"

That was actually a good question. They could head back to the glade, try to find their own footprints and head back towards the river, which would be the much safer path, or they could take the dangerous unknown route into the mountains and hope that they make it to the end of the trail. She was about to suggest the safer route, as much as she wanted her locket back she also wanted to stay alive. However, the choice was taken out of her hands.

"Let's go up," Luff shouted.

"But," Nami stated to say but Luffy shook his head.

"I want to kick his ass and the faster way to do that is up. Besides he has Addy treasure." Addy looked at him amazed, at the determination in his voice and the hard look in his eyes.

Why are you doing this? She wondered not for the first time. Despite the dangers, they were actually going to take the more treacherous route, all for her.

Apparently, that was all that was needed and they were off again, this time surer in their course. Addy walked behind him, Nami and Usopp behind her and Zoro by Luffy's side. And everything felt like it was in its proper place.

…

This was absolutely insane. The group was walking up the mountain, still following the footprints. The trees had traded leaves for needles and Addy could feel it getting colder the higher they walked up. Where the bloody hell were they going? Despite her hesitations, however, she kept on walking. Even after the three rock slides, the random bear attack and the cliff crumbling away, they continued walking. Everything was heavy despite the familiar weight missing. Once she got it back things would be better, not okay but better. Until then she would follow the idiot with the straw hat. Despite the fact that he was marching them up a mountain. What was she thinking? Maybe she was having a mental breakdown.

After a day of walking up the mountain, she was broken out of her thoughts when Luffy stopped. Walking out in front with Usopp and Nami, she saw what Zoro and Luffy were looking at. A cave, one the footprints head directly into. Addy saw torches heading into the cave but who knows how far they went. They barely lit anything up either so the cave basically dissolved into darkness. She gulped. Addy had always been claustrophobic, though it didn't normally affect her. Apparently Usopp was as well because he caught, Can't-Go-Into-The-Cave disease. Even Nami was nervous if the way she was clutching Addy's hand in an iron-clad grip was any indication. None of this, however, stopped Luffy who walked straight in with a smile on his face. Zoro followed shortly after.

"Should we follow them?" Addy asked.

"Yeah," Usopp and Nami answered in unison.

Addy sighed and took a swig from her flask, calming down her twinges. She was running low, hopefully, she would be able to steal some from the bandits. She could not go a day without it. Clipping it back into place, together the three of them walked in, following the jovial captain and the stalwart swordsman.


	5. Tides Come In Part 5

It did not take too long to catch up to Luffy and Zoro, even with Usopp being a nervous wreck. Addy grabbed a torch from the wall and was using that to light their path. It was dark and chilly, the temperature dropping not long after they had entered. There was a certain dampness to it that Addy appreciated though she doubted the others did.

She had no idea where they were going. The cave was natural and not dug out like some of the mining tunnels. However, that did not mean they were going the right way. The tunnels were a maze in the mountains. One could get lost for days. The children of the village were always warned not to go in them. And here Addy was ignoring all those warnings.

She was tired, weariness entering her bones and she could feel her injuries acting up. Well, truthfully they had been acting up for the past several days, but her sheer desperation to find her locket kept her going. Apparently that was not enough however and she felt herself crashing on the floor. The voices of her comrades were swimming in her head and all Addy wanted to do was sleep forever. Right now she was getting her wish.

…

Addy opened her eyes and all she saw was a bright red light. Blinking she saw that the light was fire from the torches. She felt something heavy lying on top of her stomach preventing her from getting up, as well as something by her side and her shoulder. Her legs were also being held in place. Riley? She thought at first but after her eyes had adjusted to the light she saw that the Straw Hats had all made themselves comfortable, as best they could, around her. Nami was using her shoulder as a pillow, Usopp curled up on her side. Zoro by her legs and Luffy was basically on top of her. She felt her heart constrict and almost let out a sob. For a second there she thought that Riley…

Out of a habit long thought dead, she ran her fingers through Luffy hair. This made him snuggle in deeper and a small smile cross her face. One of joy but also mourning. Curling herself more around Nami without disturbing any of the others, she closed her eyes to sleep.

…

Surprisingly Addy was the last one to get up and it was Nami shaking her awake that did it. She groaned but managed to sit up feeling the fresh bandages on her as she moved. Addy must have been really out of it if that did not wake her up. Saying thanks to Nami, she got her flask out of her bag, downed some more and ate some of the dried fish. There was no word about what happened, and Addy wasn't going to bring it up.

They continued walking through the cave, their only light being the torches they carried. Sometimes they wandered through open caverns with nothing but darkness below them. At other times the tunnels were so close that they were basically crawling on their hands and knees. But no matter the circumstances the group was never silent. They were always talking about something. While this probably alerted everyone remotely in the area, Addy found that she did not care.

Even when they were attacked by more bandits. This group was harder than the last but nothing that they could not handle. Addy, when she had the chance, took quick looks at Zoro and Luffy. Luffy was absolutely brutal, no mercy in his attacks. It was all chaos. Zoro was also brutal but there was a sort of elegance to it. Each sword strike was perfect, each move perfectly chosen. There was no wasted movement.

Addy ducked under a sword strike, slide so that she was on her knees and wrapped her whip around her attacker's legs sending him to the ground in whimpers. Unraveling it in the blink of the eye, she lashed it at another person coming towards her and the whip continued its path, lashing against everyone surrounding her until they were all on the ground. Letting her whip crack in the air she sent shivers down their spines.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone going after Luffy, sword raised. Not taking a chance she lashed out her whip wrapping it around her opponent's chest. Using the forward momentum, she launched herself towards the guy landing behind him and using his weight to pull him on the floor. However in the second before she unraveled her whip, she saw a sword directly above her head. Preparing to roll herself out of the way, a fist from seemingly out of nowhere landed a direct hit and sent the bandit crashing into the nearest cave wall. There was an ominous rumble but Addy barely heard it over the sounds of battle. She glanced back at Luffy who was beating the crap of more bandits without any notice of the interruption, almost as if it was natural. It wasn't much longer after that the bandits started retreating in various directions. Apparently there were more tunnels than they thought. Addy hoped that they were going in the right direction. She did not want to spend the rest of her life in these caves.

It was only when Addy turned did she see the reason they were retreating. A big guy was holding Nami and Usopp in each hand. He was tall enough that his head scraped the ceiling. Addy could stand at full height and he was a couple of feet above her. His was also as wide as two Zoro's standing next to each other. He was wearing what could only be described as a bright pink jumpsuit with way too many belts attached.

Instincts honed from when she was with Riley she let muscle memory do the work. Running towards pink jumpsuit man she wrapped her whip around him fully, quick as a flash, constricting it tightly. He gasped and dropped the two out of pain, giving Addy the opportunity.

"Lautan ombak remuk," she called out smashing directly into him. Toppling him backwards. Causing the whip to constrict even further and rip apart the clothing and skin underneath. Before he could land on the ground, Addy twisted to the side and using her momentum released her whip, sending him spiraling into the wall. Catching her breath she re-holstered her whip. Luffy and Zoro were coming towards them when a loud rumbling occurred. Apparently that bandit was the last straw and the cave started to collapse. There was no chance to get to Zoro and Luffy before the cave collapsed so Addy, Nami and Usopp did the most sensible thing and started running in the opposite direction, down the tunnel with the cave collapsing.

Eventually, they reached a large stable open cavern. Nami and Usopp collapsed on the ground, trying to catch their breath. Addy looked at the tunnel they came from. It was completely blocked off. There was no chance of going back that way.

"We are going to die!" Usopp yelled. "We are going to be trapped in this cave forever until we starve to death or the bandits get us or-"

"Calm down," Addy said. "I don't intend to die in a cave anytime soon." At least not until she got her locket back. Taking a swig from her flask, she observed the room. Unlike the other caverns, this place had multiple tunnels leading out, going in various directions. Instead of torches, there were lanterns, making this whole place a lot brighter than the previous tunnels. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"I think we found ourselves in the main hall," Addy said. She helped both Nami and Usopp from the ground. "Which means that the bandits are going to be attracted here from the collapse."

"Wait there is more of them?"

"Probably, I don't think we have run into the strongest ones yet. Only question is where do we go now?" She turned towards Nami, trusting her judgment more than her own. Instincts of a helmsman, the Captain say where he wants to go, the navigator guides, while the helmsman gets you there. It's a perfect balance.

Therefore when Nami started leading them down a tunnel, Addy trusted her. It was actually Usopp who needed the encouragement. Addy's mind wandered over to Luffy and Zoro. They were probably dead, which was a shame, they were nice guys, but nobody even a person with a Devil Fruit could survive the collapse. She would make sure that Usopp and Nami would get to where they want to go. Addy owed them that much. Assuming of course that they survive.

Wherever they were headed though was heavily guarded. Addy had counted that they had run into a least 27 traps, all of which Nami disarmed before they set them off.

"Amateurs," Nami scoffed though Addy was impressed by her skill. How long exactly had she been a thief? Had to have been since childhood.

As they continued marching down the tunnel it was rather quiet, apart from Usopp warning that they were all going to die at any second. Nami shut him up though with a bonk to the head, though tears were still streaming down his face. Despite his fears however he kept moving forward, something Addy had to give him credit for.

The missing weight was starting to ache at her. She kept reaching up only to find nothing there. The twitching was coming back so she took another swig, but found there was nothing left. She sighed. That was going to be another delay. Finding alcohol was going to be a pain, not a nightmare though considering that they were in a bandit hideout. The question then was how to convince Nami to allow for the detour. It was only then did she notice something else was missing.

"Nami," Addy called out.

"Yes?"

"Our supplies, we put them down during the bandit fight right?"

Nami seemed thoughtful for a second. "No, I think Luffy and Zoro held onto them. Those monsters could fight even with all that strapped to their backs." Addy dimly recalled that actually being the case. At some point, the two of them did take over carrying supplies.

"So then all are supplies are with them then? On the other side of the collapsed tunnel?" Nami stopped walking and Addy almost ran into the back of her. Nami turned to look at her with a look of what the Hell we do now. Usopp started up again with all the doomsaying.

Once again Addy sighed. This was going to be harder to manage than she thought. She grabbed ahold of Usopp, who was running around in circles and started talking to the two of them. "Alright here is what we are going to do. Does anyone have anything we can mark the walls with?" Nami shook her head, but Usopp rummaged around his back until he pulled out a large piece of chalk. Wondering what the hell he would ever need that for Addy decided it was best not to question it and instead walked towards the tunnel wall a drew a large arrow in the direction they were going. She did so on the other side of the tunnel as well. When she finished she turned to the other two. "Now we know that we have been down this tunnel, I will also mark it when we reach the end. That way we know which of these tunnels we have been down and how to escape from this place. Eventually, we should be able to find where they store their supplies in this maze. The two of them nodded and looked much more reassured.

They set off again, this time with Addy leading. It felt like they had been down here for hours, though Addy suspected only one or two have perhaps passed, making Addy wonder how large this place really was. Despite all the walking, they had yet to run into any other bandits. Addy almost wished they would run into one, just so she could beat directions out of him. The cave was starting to bear down on her. She ran her hand across the handle of her whip in comfort.

"Usopp," she called out, surprising the sniper. Normally she preferred silence, but this was becoming overbearing. "How did you end up joining the Straw Hats?" To admit she was rather curious, about how someone who acted like he had barely been off his home island his entire life managed to hook up with Luffy. Apparently it was a rather elaborate tale and probably highly exaggerated. Addy highly doubted Usopp took out 100 pirates with a single sniper bullet but she got the gist of the story. Sick girl with an inheritance, evil butler who was actually a pirate captain who apparently used cat claws, a hypnotist who only hypnotized himself. Addy thought he was genuinely making it up as he went along, though Nami actually seemed to confirm many of the details and correct the more egregious lies.

"So you're telling me that a bunch of cat-themed pirates came to your island. You fought them off, despite the fact that you got what shore they landed on incorrect, without letting anybody else on the island know except the girl…"

"Kaya."

"Fine Kaya, her servant, and three kids. And for return for all this trouble, they gave you a ship."

"Yep, the Going Merry."

"Going Merry," the name rolled of her tongue. It was a good name. She was looking forward to meeting this ship.

During the epic long tale as Usopp described it, they reached the end of a tunnel, with two divergent paths. After a careful deliberate decision process, i.e. flipping a coin they went down the right tunnel.

"So how did you end up allying yourself with the Straw Hats?" she asked Nami. "Let me guess, it has something to do with a crazed clown, a giant cannon, and pet food."

"Actually yes."

"Wait what?!"

"Have you ever heard of Buggy?" Addy dimly recalled the name from somewhere. Wasn't he one of the apprentices on Roger's ship? If that's the case he certainly did not make it very far, considering he is sailing around East Blue.

"Sounds familiar," Addy answered. And apparently, that was the cue for Nami to tell the story, though it was a lot less elaborate than Usopp's. Usopp kept quiet as well. It seemed like this was his first time hearing the tale.

As they continued walking they did not notice that the tunnel was getting lighter, that the path was worn down by footsteps. They only noticed that the area was different when they wandered into the next chamber and saw the Bandit King sitting on a chair behind a desk with two other guys talking right across from him on a couch. Apparently this part of the cave system was well furnished though Addy did not really notice that they had somehow managed to wander into the office of the Bandit King. He was pretty recognizable considering he had his bounty poster on the wall next to him.

He was a muscular guy, taller than even Zoro. His brown hair was slicked back and he had a frown on his face, though his eyes gave away the shock. He looked more like a businessman than a bandit king. On the couch, turned towards to face them were two other guys. One was a thin guy with bleach-blond hair and dark skin. On his hip, he carried this jagged curved sword. The other guy was much stockier though shorter, and had coal-black hair and white as snow skin. On his hands were two spikey gloves and he threw a wicked grin towards the three of them.

Addy looked between the three of them and turned to look at Usopp and Nami who were cowering behind her. Yep, they were royally screwed.


	6. Tides Come in Part 6

"Who the hell are you three?!" the Bandit King asked, looking surprised. "How the hell did you find this place?!" Addy was caught between lying through her teeth and saying the truth. Though Usopp took that decision out of her hands. Well him and Nami. Between the two of them, Addy doubted there wasn't a situation they couldn't get out of. The Bandit King seemed to be buying whatever nonsense they were saying because he stopped looking like he wanted to kill them immediately.

That all changed however when Addy saw what was on his desk. A silver seashell. Addy locked eyes with the Bandit King and his eyes widened. It didn't matter what his bounty was, the fact that they were on his home turf or that ever single odd was stacked against her. Addy was going to get that back even if it killed her.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Addy raced across the room, used the big guy head as a springboard and flipped over the table to grab the locket. However, the Bandit King noticed what she was doing and in the last second grabbed it. Landing on the other side of the desk, she pivoted so she was facing Usopp and Nami and a very angry big guy holding up one of his spiked gloves and trying to punch her teeth in. She ducked beneath his arm and swerved around him so that she was facing his back.

This fight was going to be tricky Addy thought. The guy was covered in some sort of metal armor. Only his neck, forearms, and calves were uncovered. Addy wondered what the point of armor that left blind spots was but she did not spend too much time thinking about it as she was dodging his furious punches.

"Stay still brat and let me hit you!" the guy grumbled. His voice sounded like gravel.

"No thanks, I would rather like to keep on living," Addy replied. She could not afford to get hit. One punch and her organs would be goop. Not because he was exactly strong, Addy has fought stronger but because she was basically made out of glass.

She dodged and pivoted around and cracked her whip, lashing it across the back of his neck. She could hear him hiss in pain, though all he did was lunge at her again.

"Addy take him down!" Usopp called out. She turned quickly to look at them, wondering why the hell they haven't escaped yet. Apparently the other guy with a sword was blocking the door which was pretty much the last thing they needed.

No scratch that, the twinges she was starting to get were the last thing she needed. She barely dodged the last punch. She needed something to calm her nerves and she needed it now.

"So you are not that fast after all, girl," her opponent grumbled.

"Please, I could dodge you all day." Addy was lying through her teeth but she wasn't going to let him know that. Circling around him, she lashed out against his legs hoping that would slow him down.

"That's it you wretch. Hammer Fist!" he called out. Addy barely managed to get out of the way. He brought his two fists together and smashed them into the ground. While she managed to dodge the impact, the shockwave knocked the breath out of her and sent her stumbling into the desk.

"Oi, keep her away from the desk," the Bandit King said sounding annoyed. "I got valuable stuff here." She was about to launch herself from the desk when her hand brushed a bottle of some sort. Grabbing it quickly she jumped into the farthest corner away from her opponent.

Looking at the bottle she could tell it was some kind of scotch, probably a good kind to if the Bandit King was drinking it. Not that it really mattered all she needed was something to calm her down. She would have drunk a medicine bottle at that point. Downing the thing entirely, she threw the bottle into the corner somewhat satisfied with the sound of smashing glass and the angry snarl of the Bandit King.

"So you're a bit of a drinker then," big angry man said.

"What can I say, I like the taste of good alcohol."

"Careful girly don't get too drunk now."

"Please it takes more than one bottle to even get me tipsy." Sad enough that was true and something that Addy somewhat regretted. Though now was not the time to think about that, she had a guy to take out. Perhaps she could use this to her advantage. "Actually what does that say about you that I can drink you under the table. Perhaps you would like some milk instead since you obviously can't handle what I dish out."

That made him angry. With a howl of rage, he charged towards her. While most people would assume that this is a bad idea, Addy smiled. Angry people also usually end up being stupid people, with very few exceptions. And this was no exception. Addy dodged him at the last possible moment by leaping in the air, so that he ran straight into the wall she had her back towards, knocking down some rather expensive looking paintings.

"Oh come on," the Bandit King said. "Those were valuable." Really those were valuable? Addy was pretty sure that Luffy could do better. Addy twisted herself in the air so that she landed on angry man's back. Grabbing the hilt of her whip on either side she pressed it against his throat letting the rest of the whip tangle around his leg. Unfortunately, the guy was slightly taller than she was so her feet were just scraping the ground.

This had the effect of driving the man absolutely bonkers and he raced all over the room trying to get her off without success. Addy spent most of the time trying to drive him into various walls with a bonus of destroying most of the furniture in the place. The Bandit King looked more and more unhappy with each passing moment.

"You absolute moron, back her into a wall!"

It was when he tried to do so that Addy jumped off but not before kicking him in the head. He let out an enraged roar. Apparently he was too angry for words now. Once she hit the ground Addy backed up as far as she could from the man. She did not like the look in his eye.

"Hammer top!" he screamed, sticking his arms out and spinning madly. It was like he was creating a tornado in the middle of the room he was spinning so quickly. Addy watched as he ran directly into a wall and bounced off heading straight towards the Bandit King. Sighing he got up and slammed his fist into the center of the massive spinning ball of fury and sent it straight towards her.

"Now you've done it," the Bandit King drawled. "He is going to destroy the room now and I had it perfectly set up. He wasn't kidding. Addy could feel the wind blast from where she was standing. It was cutting into her, she could feel some of her wounds reopening. It wouldn't be long until he reached her, less time until she was incapable of moving.

Looking around for an opening, she scanned the room. She did not have long until the death top came crashing into her. It was only at the last second did she spot what she was looking for. Jumping up right before he smashed into her, she grabbed the chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling and climbed on top as the guy she was fighting smashed into a wall only to be sent flying off into another. Addy hoped that the chandelier would hold her weight. As she stared at the guy now bouncing around the room and destroying everything. This was turning into an absolute nightmare. The guy just keeps moving.

Addy wondered if he was going to get tired eventual. He must have to. Apparently not before spiraling out of control. Suddenly there was a shift in his direction and he was going to plow directly into Usopp and Nami. Thinking quickly Addy knew she really had only one option. Timing it correctly was going to be the hard part. Waiting until he was just about to pass right below her, she gripped the chandelier and gave it a hard tug. With the added pressure of her weight and her jumping off she sent it crashing into the ground. Right onto him. The shards of glass went everywhere and some of them embedded in her skin. Ignoring the pain she knew that she had one move to take this guy down.

"Lautan Tangan!" she called out lashing her whip at him. The whip tip started splitting off and wrapping themselves around the various open parts of his body cutting directly into his skin. Addy continued twisting her whip so it dug further and further into his skin until it was tight enough that it was cutting into bone. "Kembali!" Addy said clearly and the whip untwisted itself from him leaving blood spluttering from his wounds. The various tails merged back into one and her opponent collapsed on the floor from blood loss.

Addy now turned towards the swordsman, though she could tell she was bleeding from where the glass had hit her and where she reopened her wounds. Addy would not last long and she knew it. Perhaps she could give Usopp and Nami enough of a chance to get away though.

Turns out she could not even do that much. Before she knew it she was on her knees and sword at her throat right smack in front of the doorway. The sword guy was an amazing fighter. At full strength, Addy might have been able to take him down, though she doubted it. She remembered moving there to dodge his attacks, though she knew that it was him pushing her in that direction. Her side was stinging from where he managed to get an attack in. Usopp and Nami were now in the middle of the room by the desk. Addy could see the fear but also some other emotions in there as well. Stubbornness and pride. Addy knew if she died here then they would fight tooth and nail against these guys. Not for the first time Addy wished she had the strength to defend those she cared for. She failed again.

Addy could feel the tears in her eyes starting to form but she would not let them shed. Instead, she looked defiantly at the Bandit King who was now staring directly into her eyes. Once the swordsman had her pinned he got up from his desk and walked over. If they were going to kill her she would go down fighting as best she could. The longer she held off, the better chance Usopp and Nami had to think of a way to escape.

"You know, I could use someone of your skills," the Bandit King stated calmly. Addy continued to glare at him. "You did manage to take out Clive, which is impressive despite him being a moron. Tell you what how about we make a deal. I consider myself a businessman of sorts." Addy almost laughed out loud but held back to a snicker. Apparently he did not notice or if he did he paid it no attention. "I will give you what you are looking for." He held out her locket. Before she could grab it he snatched it away from her sight. "This is really precious to you, isn't it? The material is virtually worthless," Addy started to shake in anger. "Nothing more than a common seashell. However looking inside," He opened up the locket and Addy would have lunged at him if not for the sword at her throat. "Mm interesting, someone very precious. A lover perhaps."

Addy let loose an inhuman growl that unnerved even the Bandit King. He snapped the locket closed. "You have a choice. Either work for me, get your locket back and kill those two." He pointed to Usopp and Nami who simultaneously squeaked. "Or you die with them without your prized possession."

Addy looked towards the ground her head bowed. The choice was perfectly clear. 'I am sorry Riley.' She turned her head back up, her eyes blazing.

"May Ocean swallow you whole and never let you go out of His clutches."

"I am guessing that's a no then," the Bandit King said. "Shame really could have used you."

"If you think even for a moment that I would ever work for an absolute shithead like yourself then you must be an absolute moron. Well, what can I expect from a guy who looked like he got his suit out of a leftover bargain bin."

The Bandit King slapped her hard. She could feel her cheek stinging. He hit one of her cuts.

"That was uncalled for," he said. The blade dug deeper into her throat and now more blood was trickling down. "Here I was going to kill you quickly but now I am going to have you watch as I kill those two over there slowly." He started walking over towards Nami and Usopp, who were backing themselves into a corner. 'Idiots,' Addy thought. She had to do something.

"What too much of a coward to fight someone who can actually fight back." The sword bit even deeper in and more blood was flowing. It was an absolute bluff. Addy could not even get up if she tried but she had to do something, anything.

It didn't matter in the end though. The sound of rock grounding against rock interrupted everything. Everyone turned to look towards the wall where the sound was coming from. The wall came down revealing another tunnel.

Addy laughed out loud. She would figure out how they were still alive later. Usopp and Nami looked equally ecstatic. Out of the tunnel stepped Luffy and Zoro. Luffy was cracking his knuckles and giving a glare to the Bandit King, who was with surprise at the intrusion.

Zoro was wearing a bandana around his head and giving an absolute death glare to the swordsman holding Addy hostage. The swordsman was staring passively back though did have the courtesy to remove his sword from her throat as Zoro stalked towards him.

It was like the most dramatic staring contest on the face of the planet. Zoro, Addy, and the two remaining bad guys were on one side of the room while Luffy, Nami, and Usopp were on the other.

"Well, this should be fun. I would, however, like to even my odds," The Bandit King said. Addy only then noticed that he was standing by his desk. There was a loud click and suddenly iron bars descended from the roof dividing it in half, leaving Zoro and Addy separated from Luffy and more importantly Luffy separated from the Bandit King.

"Dirk," he said. Addy assumed he was talking to the swordsman. "Kill the swordsman." In the second that Addy had to process what he said the swordsman leaped straight at Zoro, blade drawn, and aiming directly for Zoro's neck.


	7. Tides Come in Part 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This has to be my favorite chapter so far. I don't know what it is but there was something so easy about writing it. As always please review and tell me what you think and what I can improve upon.

Addy closed her eyes. She did not want to watch this.

'I am sorry to drag you all into this,' she thought. There was a clash of metal on metal, a loud ring echoed. Addy opened her eyes and saw Zoro wielding his three blades. While the other two were normal, the blade in his mouth, it glowed. It was beautiful yet deadly. And then the two-swordsman started moving. The clashing of metal almost drowned out Luffy yelling at the Bandit King to let him kick his ass, along with Usopp and Nami cheering on Zoro. All Addy could do was look. So far no one seemed to have an advantage in this fight.

Instead of looking tired, however, Zoro looked excited. He was grinning madly and was clearly enjoying himself.

"Don't be sorry," he said grinning madly. "I haven't had a decent fight in a while."

'He might be a literal demon,' Addy thought. Apparently, when he started fighting, there was not much talking. Though that could also be because he had a sword in his mouth. All his concentration was going into blocking blades and trying to get a strike in. His opponent was good as well, though he remained impressively neutral. Not an emotion crossed his face.

Slowly but surely however Zoro was gaining ground. Zoro flowed with his swords as if they were a part of him. He was getting some strikes in while the other swordsman was barely able to touch him despite some of the elaborate moves he was trying to pull now. Feints, crazed slashes, other movements that looked like they belonged in a dance rather than a sword fight. Yet despite it all, he remained impassive. It was really creepy Addy thought.

The swordsman jumped in the air to prepare for an aerial attack, but Zoro was ready for it. Zoro leapt up into the air as well, somehow above the other swordsman and made a descending slash.

"Santoryu Maku no Uchi!" Zoro called out intending to slam his opponent into the ground. He barely managed to twist out of the way however and landed gently on his feet. Zoro landed with more of a thud, moving around so that he was standing in front of Addy.

'There is something wrong here.' Addy thought. She tried getting up but could not manage. Her limbs trembled with the effort and blood oozed from various wounds. Her vision was slightly blurry and she started feeling dizzy. After collapsing a few more times she managed to stand upright but she could feel her legs about to give out from underneath her. Her body was definitely going to hate her later. Addy had to find a place out of the way, at least to give Zoro more room to maneuver. She looked to see if she could make her way down the tunnel they came from only to see it sealed off. The entrance that Luffy and Zoro came out of was closed as well. Apparently that button on the desk had more than one use which was really bad for them. Slowly moving across to the corner of the room, she just heard Nami call her name before seeing a sword blade coming towards her shoulder. She tried to back away, but she knew she was too slow. She braced herself for the inevitable however before it could hit her, a small smile graced her lips. At least everything would be over soon and she could see Riley again. In the last moment, Zoro stepped in front catching the blade with one of his.

"Coward!" he spat. Zoro looked absolutely murderous but the swordsman in front of him kept staring impassively. No indication that he was surprised that his blow was blocked. Not even Zoro's killing intent managed to phase the man. Addy wondered if he was a robot because if she was where he was standing, she would be cowering in a corner curled up in a ball, sobbing. Pulling his sword away from Zoro's Addy expected him to go after Zoro, perhaps to try to go for his side or jump up in the air again. What Addy did not expect was for him to swing around and go for her again. Zoro barely managed to block it and ended up getting nicked in the arm. Zoro did not even notice the injury as he lashed out again, with the swordsman jumping back. The robot swordsman was doing what every fighter with a shred of honor absolutely hated, going forward to attack only to pull back again.

"What is up with you?" Zoro hissed. "What are you mute or something?"

"Yes, he is actually, so glad you noticed," the Bandit King spoke. "He cannot speak a word. Luckily that does not affect his swordsman skills." As he said that he tried launching himself at Addy again, with Zoro once again blocking it.

It was then Addy figured out what he was trying to do. Zoro could not go out and attack him because otherwise, Mr. Mute would strike her down. Meaning that Zoro had to protect her which limited his movements severely while he could attack the two of them with impunity. Which is what exactly he was trying to do now. It was a testament to Zoro's skill how well he was handling himself not only getting in a couple of strikes at the guy but defending her as well. However, he was not going to defeat him at this rate. Eventually the mute would get a lucky blow in. Then it would be over for both of them.

"Zoro you must realize what he is trying to do at this point," Addy said. Addy thought if he could he would have turned to face her and give her the 'No shit look.' To make up for it he said it out loud. "Then let him attack me."

"What?!" she heard Usopp and Nami yell. Luffy had gone silent and was staring at her hard. Almost as if he was looking into her soul. She flinched under his gaze but held her stance firm. Zoro instead of moving away from her backed into her. Close enough that his back was flushed against her chest. He essentially trapped her between himself and the wall giving himself even less room to maneuver.

"What are you doing?! Let him attack me! Right now I am only in your way! Without me, you would have defeated him by now! You are the better swordsman by far, even a blind man can see that! Stop protecting me and destroy him!"

"He will kill you," Zoro said.

"I know." Addy sighed and closed her eyes. After a moment she opened them. "And I accept that. Let me die."

Her thoughts filled with what she wanted to say but couldn't bring herself to. 'All I have is broken promises and lost dreams. Let me see Riley again.'

"Now I really wished you joined me. Self-sacrifice is such a useful trait," the Bandit King said. Addy glanced towards him though what caught her attention was Luffy. He was looking absolutely livid, though, at the Bandit King or her, Addy was unsure.

"Zoro," Luffy said his voice sharp and clear. "Make sure he doesn't hurt her."

"Understood Captain," he replied.

"Luffy," Addy said. "Let Zoro fight this mute bastard!"

"He is."

"No, what I mean is let him fight no holds barred, I am expendable here."

"No."

"Why not?!" she screamed. "I am only in the way here!"

"You are our Nakama."

"I am not your damn Nakama! You're only here because I asked you and you need me to sail you out of here. Which you can still do without me, considering your stupid amount of luck. This allegiance has been one of convenience."

"If that is the case then why did you not take your treasure?"

Addy stopped there. Why didn't she? She barely knew these people. They were nice people, but that had not stopped her in the past, and her locket. That was everything. She still had something left to do as well. A promise to uphold. Yet she threw that all away when she turned down the Bandit King's offer. Why? Why? Why? It crossed her mind that Luffy and Zoro must have overheard their conversation through the wall. But that still could not explain… then it dawned on her and she let out a small smile.

"Zoro," she asked softly. "Do you trust me?"

There wasn't even a slight hesitation with the yes.

"Then move forward a little."

Zoro did as she asked though with slight hesitancy. In that brief moment, a series of actions happened. Addy purposely collapsed on the ground. Usopp and Nami gasped out in shock. Luffy grinned madly. The swordsman readied his attack, a sweeping downward blow, the Bandit King looked surprised and Zoro sheathed one of his swords.

"Nitoryu Nihonshu!" Zoro called. He ran forward attacking his fellow swordsman with a cross-cut. Due to the angle of his sword, there was no way for him to block it and he took on a direct attack. Blood splattered the walls and the guy fell to the ground. Blacked out.

"Yay Zoro!" Luffy shouted.

"Fantastic, now I have to get new lieutenants," The Bandit King muttered. He walked towards the two of them cracking his knuckles. "Now you made me angry." It almost seemed like there was a glowing red aura surrounding him, pulsating. As he came closer Zoro readied his swords, preparing to attack,

"Santoryu," he started to say but was interrupted when the Bandit King charged forward and punched him in the gut sending him spiraling into a wall. The Bandit King seemed to be in some kind of blood rage. Which Addy should probably be thankful for as that meant that he was busy trying to beat Zoro into a bloody pulp instead of her. And unlike her Zoro seem to be able to handle it, if him standing up and trying to attack the wall of meat was any indication. The Bandit King seemed to have grown three sizes and was acting more like an animal than a human. He wasn't even trying to dodge Zoro's attacks though they seemed to have as much an effect if Nami went up and poked him. They needed Luffy and they needed him now. Luffy was gnawing at the bars as if he realized this as well. Nami was looking around for something to open the gate from her side and Usopp was helping her.

Addy looked around for anything on her side that might help when she spotted the only thing left standing in the room, the desk. Thanking Ocean that it was still standing she made her way there as fast as she could. Which in her case meant crawling slowly trying to avoid Zoro and the Bandit King. At least Zoro managed to figure out what she was doing and was directing the Bandit King as best he could, which was not very well but at least he was trying.

Addy tried crawling across the floor avoiding all the broken pieces of furniture, the remains of the chandelier and whatever else was lying around from the destruction. She could taste the blood in her mouth and the cacophony of noise coming from the battle and the other Straw Hats yelling, desperately looking for a way to open the gate. As much of a powerhouse, Zoro was he would not last much longer. If Zoro died…..

Finally managing to claw herself to the desk she started ripping open all the drawers, looking for something anything that would open up the gate.

"Check for secret panels!" Nami called out. Addy did so. Carefully feeling around each of the drawers as quickly as she could straining her ears for the sound of a click, or anything that would mark a secret compartment. It proved fruitless however and she looked up at Nami desperately.

"Try the bottom of the desk, see if there is any compartments or a button." Addy ran her hands across the bottom of the desk. Desperately looking for even the slightest indentation. Finding nothing, she crawled underneath the desk hoping to see something. Luckily she did because a moment later Zoro was thrown across the room and landed straight on the desk. It did not even buckle under his weight or the force of the throw but Addy saw a compartment slide open. A button revealing itself. She laughed out loud. Pushing the button as quickly as she could. She heard a loud click and climbed out from underneath the desk.

Watching the gate with excitement she prepared it to lift up and Luffy come out barreling out striking the Bandit King with one of his rubber fists. Instead, nothing happened. The gate did not so much as budge.

"Oh come on!" Addy yelled, climbing back under the desk and ramming the button. "Why are you not working?!" That's it. It's official. She has the worst luck in the universe. She stared at the button as if it was all its fault before climbing back out from under the desk.

Things were getting really bad now. Zoro was heavily injured, he was not going to be able to take any more blows. Blood was streaming down him and he was gasping for air as if every breath was precious. The stench of blood and sweat was suffocating now. Addy could barely move, much less go toe to toe with the Bandit King. Heck, he was powerful enough to go through walls at this point. Unlike Zoro, he just seemed to be getting stronger and stronger, angrier and angrier, as the fight continued.

'He could probably rip through iron at this point' Addy thought. Suddenly an idea dawned on her. When it came to annoying enemies she was the queen, however considering that she was probably slowly bleeding to death that wasn't exactly an option.

"Usopp!" she called out. "Shoot the Bandit King."

"What are you crazy?! He'll come after me!" Usopp yelled back.

"Exactly." It dawned on Usopp what she was asking him to do. Despite his shaky nerves, he readied his weapon.

"Make sure he can feel it," Addy called out.

"Please, this will probably take him down in one shot." Usopp drew back his slingshot and let loose the pellet. "Kayaku Boshi!."

The pellet hit the Bandit King directly in his head creating an explosion. He roared and dropped Zoro to the ground with a large thunk. Charging towards Usopp he slammed into the metal bars which buckled under his strengthen. Usopp screamed and ducked under the piece of debris that Nami and him were hiding behind. The Bandit King charged again and the iron bars weakened even further. Luffy prepared his attack, pulling his arm back. After the third charge, the bars broke down and he roared steeping to the other side, gunning towards Usopp with a murderous intent, only to be launched backwards straight over Addy and Zoro to the opposite side of the room with a scream of Gomu Gomu no Pistol.


	8. Tides Come In Part 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is actually my favorite chapter. It was so much fun to write this though I think the ending is weak. It does contain hints of Zoro/Addy. The story takes place while they are still in East Blue right before they recruit Sanji which is why he isn't here.

"Gomu, Gomu no Gatling Gun!" Luffy called out, pummeling the Bandit King even further into the wall. Addy had crawled over towards Zoro and dragged his semi-broken body beneath the invincible desk. They basically half-carried each other and were huddled up under the desk watching Luffy wail on the guy. Addy was curled under Zoro's arm and pressed into his side. His cheeks were flushed red, most likely from exhaustion. He had taken a beating. A couple of his ribs were broken and probably more than that but she would examine closer once they got out of here, or get someone who is actually qualified to look at him. He kept giving her nervous glances, probably more worried about her them himself. Addy did not want to look at herself in the mirror.

They had their head stuck out and were essentially watching on their stomachs. Luffy was launching attack after attack at the guy but he would not go down. He was just getting angrier and stronger. Lucky Luffy was as flexible and nimble as he was strong otherwise Addy had the feeling that the Bandit King would be using Luffy as a bouncy ball.

That was until the Bandit King got in a lucky hit on Luffy and sent him careening into the wall, only for him to bounce back and punch the Bandit King in the face.

"How?" Addy asked.

"Rubber," Zoro answered. Addy understood immediately. Since Luffy was essentially made out of rubber, blunt attacks would not work. That was how they survived. Luffy was a rubber man and Zoro…. Zoro was just a monster.

"Gomu, Gomu no Yari!" Luffy shouted smashing the Bandit King into the ground, though he just shook it off and continued to try to attack Luffy who reacted with a Gomu, Gomu no Kame. Luffy was out of sight. All they could see were his stretchy limbs and the massive figure of the Bandit King. The Bandit King was getting tired now, Addy could see that he was breathing harder, though Luffy was certainly in the same situation. All those powerful attacks must take something out of him.

The Bandit King noticed apparently, and ripped off the last thing left on the wall. A massive double-edged battle-ax. Roaring he started swinging it around like a mad man, even more so than before. Addy really put a lot of faith in this desk, otherwise, they were going to end up as pulp.

Despite the largeness of the ax it seemed to have given Luffy an advantage, giving him surface room to land some very close range punches. Launching himself at the Bandit King he landed on the ax and got a few good blows in before jumping off to repeat the process. Luckily the ax head was large enough for him to stand on, and even for the Bandit King, he was moving it slow enough for Luffy to continuously jump on and off. Of course, this did little than annoy him if the more manic ax swings were any indication. He managed to nail Luffy a couple of times, enough so that his shirt was torn up and the blood spilling onto the ground. Collectively the three of them have probably bled enough to form one whole person, and the stench of it was obvious. Due to being trapped in this room, everything was being stifled. Even the air was becoming stale and constricting.

"We got to get the door open somehow," Addy said. Zoro looked at her quizzically. "I don't know much about rubber powers but I have a feeling that the farther they stretch back, the more powerful they are." Zoro nodded as Luffy sailed over the desk and to the other side of the room, where they could no longer see the fight, but they can certainly hear it, with the yelling and screaming, from Usopp and Nami, and the angry growls from the Bandit King. "Well, essentially Luffy right now is fighting in a broom closet. If we gave him more room he might be able to finish the guy off."

"I know."

"You know?"

Zoro shrugged. "If you knew a way to open a door by now you would have done so by now and Luffy can handle him even with the hindrance."

"Still we should try to figure it out, at least make it easier on him." Addy attempted to get up to examine the doorway, perhaps there was some clue that they missed but Zoro held her down.

"Um Zoro I sort of need to…"

"You're hurt," he said softly.

Addy rolled her eyes, "So are most of us including yourself by the way but…"

"You are hurt," he repeated. He moved his hand to her side and it came back sticky with blood. Addy had no idea how she did not feel that, and it also made her wonder how much blood on Zoro was from him or from her. Speaking of which she was feeling dizzy but she blamed that on whatever she downed during her fight.

She felt around in her pack and pulled out a round of bandages and what looked like a tube of cream. It would not do her any good if she passed out from blood loss. This was going to be hard under a desk but she will have to make do.

Removing her shirt, which at this point could use a good wash she was left in only her sports bra. Zoro was blushing madly now. Perhaps he doesn't get around women a lot which doesn't make sense considering he looks like a sex god.

"Gomu, Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy yelled. An angry roar proved it was a direct hit and a large crash indicated that Luffy probably sent him into the nearest wall. Luffy had been shouting attacks left and right for a while now and nothing was working considering that the Bandit King was still standing and not lying on the floor in a coma.

"Zoro," she said snapping his attention back to her. "I need you to rub this one my wounds and then wrap them." Zoro could wait on his injuries, she could not exactly set broken bones here and he could probably have a limb missing and still be fine. However, she was going to pass out if something was not done.

"Right," he said still looking like a tomato. Surprisingly his hands were gentle, rubbing the cream in softly and wrapping the bandages as best he could, which considering they were under a desk could have been way worse. He fumbled a little when a large piece of debris went flying over them, followed shortly by the Bandit King and Luffy. Yet he recovered and had her patched up. Though his fingers were trailing over her abs.

"You are very well defined," he said sounding surprised.

"Blame swimming on that."

"Do any lifting?"

"Small hand weights, nothing significant. Want to tone up not build muscle after all. I actually do more flexibility work."

Zoro nodded and withdrew his hand. Addy slipped on her mucky shirt, promising she would jump in the nearest body of water when she got the chance. She turned back on her stomach to see Luffy and the Bandit King staring at each other.

"Enough of this," the Bandit King growled. "This is becoming monotonous. Why are you here anyway?"

"You stole my Nakama's treasure!" Luffy shouted though that was less than necessary.

"Treasure? What the Hell are you…. YOU MEAN THAT DAMN LOCKET?! THAT USELESS PIECE OF JUNK! YOU BROKE IN HERE DESTROYED MY OFFICE, DEFEATED MY MINIONS FOR THAT!"

"IT IS HER TREASURE!"

The Bandit King started laughing, uproariously. Addy would not have been surprised if the town heard him from here.

"That has to be the dumbest reason I have ever heard in my life. What is she blackmailing you or something? Offering sex? What?"

"She is my Nakama."

"So what you're going to risk your life, the lives of your friends, for a little trinket that you could find on any fricken beach in the world?"

"YES!"

"WHY?!"

Luffy was looking at him like he was the dumbest person in the world. He shook his head.

"She is our Nakama. You hurt her and now I hurt you back."

Addy stared slack-jawed at Luffy in absolute disbelief. She honestly thought that the only reason Luffy came with her was because they needed a way off the island. Not that… Thoughts that she hasn't had for a while came back to her mind, and a feeling, a feeling that she thought that she would never have again came rising up in her chest. It was still missing, it always will but at this moment it was cloudy as if filled by something light. She felt….

Whole.

"Well if that is the case then," the Bandit King drawled. "I might as well show you the truth." He put his hand in his pocket and drew out her locket. Holding it between two fingers he lifted it up for all of them to see. "What a fragile thing this is, how easy it would be to crush,"

"NO!" Addy screamed trying to get up, but Zoro was holding her down. "LET GO OF ME!"

"It seems like your friends are not here to help you," the Bandit King laughed. "Such a shame, but perhaps this will teach you to make sure that your treasure is not so fragile."

Suddenly a single pachinko ball came out of nowhere and knocked the locket out of the Bandit Kings handle, sending it to the floor only for Nami to catch it. The Bandit King turned in surprise, rage etched onto his face.

"GOMU GOMU NO…" Luffy shouted stretching his arms back. Addy and Zoro climbed out from under the desk and looked behind them to see and opening to a tunnel in the back of the room and Usopp standing by a lever.

"BAZOOKA!" Luffy launched his arms forward sending the guy straight through the wall, which was the entrance that Addy, Nami and Usopp originally came out of. He went flying out so that they could no longer see him, but they heard a loud crash, signaling his impact.

"It's over," Addy whispered collapsing on her hands and knees.

"Not yet, we still have to get out," Nami said. "Here you go." Nami placed the locket in Addy's hands and Addy stared dumbstruck. The rest of them crowed around her, just watching. Addy could feel tears in the corner of her eye. Her shoulders started to shake, tears falling down her face but instead of sobbing she grinned and started laughing. The rest had soon joined her. She put the spare chain she carried through the locket and put it around her neck, where it belonged.

Nami helped her up and Addy was using her as a crutch. Zoro offered to help but she dismissed him, pointing out his own injuries that needed to be looked at. All of them together looked like a disaster and Addy figured they could all use a good nap and some food.

"Now that's all over with… how do we get out of here?" Addy asked. "Because I am not going down the tunnel where Luffy launched the Bandit King.

"Follow me," Luffy said. Turning towards the tunnel that Usopp opened. Zoro followed him immediately, leaving Usopp, Nami, and Addy alone in the broken-down room with the two lieutenants who somehow managed to end up in a corner on top of one another.

Addy shrugged, "Might as well, it is either that or stay here and wait for them to wake up." She pointed to the lieutenants. They followed Luffy as quickly as they could passing over unconscious bodies and trying to avoid tripping over stuff. They made their way through long corridors, stylishly decorated rooms, and not so stylishly decorated rooms including a room filled with bunk beds.

'Well, at least I know where I will be sleeping for the next couple of days' Addy thought. It was a huge chamber with multiple levels filled with bunk beds. Addy counted at least 40. This must have been where all the bandits stayed. The question is then where were they?

"Oh we kicked their asses," Luffy said. Apparently Addy asked that out loud.

"What all of them?" Nami asked.

"Yes," Zoro answered.

"What? How? Where are they? You know what never mind. I am better off not knowing." After following Luffy for what seemed like forever, they finally reached their goal.

The kitchen.

"Why am I not surprised?" Nami said. Luffy was stuffing his face already. Addy was surprised that there still was food considering Luffy had to have been here at least once. Apparently, though there was enough food to last the army of bandits living in the mountains for several months. Which should be enough to last Luffy at least two days.

"Hey," Addy called out. The others turned towards her. "Why don't we bring this all into the room with the beds so once we are done-" Addy did not even get a chance to finish her sentence as before she could blink, Luffy had the food packed in large canvas bags, which she is not even sure where he got from and handed one to Usopp and Zoro and carried one himself before racing back to the bunk bedroom, which he surprising managed to find.

After laying all the food out and eating until they were stuffed Luffy collapsed on one of the beds completely distended. Zoro was asleep a couple of beds down and Usopp was in a bed on the other side of Luffy, snoring loudly. Only Nami and Addy were still up. Nami was leaning on her looking like she was about to collapse.

"Oh right, do you want me to check out your injuries?" Nami yawned.

"No, Zoro actually patched me up while Luffy was fighting."

"What really? You sure you don't want me to look at it."

"No, it's fine. Why do you ask?

Nami huffed. "Zoro does the worst bandaging job I have ever seen in my life. His hands feel like sandpaper and he wraps everything too tightly and wastes half the bandages. I started doing it myself just to save the effort."

"Right, well I didn't actually notice anything wrong. Speaking of injuries we should probably treat Luffy and Zoro. Which one do you want?"

"Luffy, Zoro is an absolute monster if you wake him up for anything less than a full-on emergency. Luffy will not wake up at all."

"If you say so." Nami got up bandages in hand and headed towards Luffy. Addy headed towards Zoro. Crossing over to where he was sleeping, she placed a hand on him to try to get him up, then shook him up a little but he was dead to the word. Not that she blamed him.

Lifting up his shirt she checked over his ribs. Some were definitely broken, it would take a while for him to heal. Addy hesitated before wrapping the bandages on him. And he called her well defined.

After that was done Addy looked to see that Nami collapsed on a bed on the farthest side of the room. Sleep was something she needed as well. Climbing into the bed that was on Luffy's other side. Closing her eyes she drifted off, clutching her locket in her hand.


	9. Tides Come In Part 9

They were up after a rest. Addy was unsure how long they had been asleep but it must have been several hours. After taking a shower and cleaning off her clothing the best she could she wrapped clean bandages around herself. Her body was screaming in protest with every movement but it did not matter. The familiar weight around her neck and the warmth she felt in her chest was worth every injury.

Addy then made sure that everyone else was treated. Nami and Usopp were okay, a few scratches but nothing major. Luffy had to be distracted with food in order to make sure that he sat still enough for Addy to check him out. Even Zoro was wearing various bandages after Addy fought with him about it. He was still grumbling though saying that they were too confining. The Straw Hats were sitting around eating breakfast and deciding the best course of action for getting out of the mountain and back down towards civilization.

"We are not walking back down the mountain. It was hard enough getting up here. We got lucky we made it here the first time. Does anyone actually know where that entrance is anyway?" Nami asked. "The bandits must have a quick way to get down the mountain otherwise they would not be raiding the town every other day. Right, Addy?"

"I would assume so, but the question is where. Most likely there would be a map in the Bandit King's office but that was sort of destroyed. And I don't know about you but I don't exactly want to go back there and look. "

"Arrrg! Okay what other options do we have? Luffy stop chewing so loudly you're breaking my concentration." She hit him on the head creating a rather large bump.

"Mufwfre, cfhofhufhjldhf, tahdke, tndhkde mefifhne cahrdjfht," Luffy said mouth full of food.

"What are you saying?" Addy asked.

"He said we could take the minecart," Zoro answered.

"There's a minecart?! And you didn't say so before?!" Nami said now hitting Zoro over the head.

"Yeah it's right by the treasure room," Luffy stated before taking another bite of meat.

"TREASURE ROOM?!" As Nami was yelling at the two of them, Addy turned towards Usopp.

"Is it sad that I am getting used to the madness?" she asked.

"Yes," Usopp answered. "But at least we will be sad together."

"I heard that misery loves company."

"All right here is the plan," Nami called out. "We will go to the treasure room, take as much as we can. Get out of this place on minecarts and set sail."

"Yosh, off to the Grand Line," Luffy yelled.

It didn't take too long to find the treasure room. And by too long it meant a couple of hours since neither Zoro nor Luffy seemed to remember where it was. How these two managed to get anywhere was beyond her. How did they not get lost at sea before Nami joined them? Addy had to break out the chalk again but they managed to find it. When they did it was like Nami was in heaven. There was gold stacked in numerous piles. Jewels sorted by their various colors strewn about. Chests filled with jewelry. Addy gravitated towards the blue jewels wondering if she could take one without Nami noticing. She would rather not take the chance. Nami's wrath was not something she wanted.

Nami's eyes turned into beli's and she started throwing every piece of treasure she could get her hands on into sacks. Addy got lucky and was stuck carrying the rest of the supplies they nicked. The rest of them, Nami included were loaded up with treasure. Addy wasn't exactly sure how much it was all worth but it had to be a lot considering the way Nami's eyes were glinting.

After several more wrong turns, they figured out where the minecarts were and Addy was less than thrilled with what was in front of them.

Essentially the mine cart track just dipped into darkness. Addy could not see where it would lead too. Usopp was quaking saying he was catching Can't-Go-Into-Minecart disease. Luffy meanwhile looked like a kid who wandered into a free candy store. Addy was sure she never saw someone sparkle as much as he was right now.

There were three minecarts. Each minecart could fit two people and one bag or one person and three bags. Unlike regular minecarts, they actually had seats so you could strap yourselves in. Surprisingly Addy did not find this very comforting. There were also harnesses so that the bags could be locked down. This is how Luffy ended up with three bags in front after he declared that he would be first and after Nami made him promise several times that he would not let any of the bags go flying and if any of them did he would catch them with his ridiculous stretchy limbs. So Luffy became the guardian of the supplies and the least valuable treasure. Nami and Usopp were in the next car with the most valuable treasure, Nami would not let it out of her sight, and Addy and Zoro in the back with the moderately valuable goods.

"This has to be one of the dumbest things I ever done," Addy said sitting in the minecart.

"This is the dumbest thing I have ever done," Usopp said, turning his head as best he could, which wasn't much considering how tightly they were strapped in.

"Well perhaps this will be okay after all we don't know how fast this thing goessssss…." Addy words were lost in the wind as Luffy pulled the lever and off they went.

It felt like they were going supersonic and in complete darkness, it was immensely disorientating. All she could hear was Nami and Usopp screaming, not that she blamed them and Luffy laughing. Addy was holding Zoro's hand in a vice-like grip. She knew that it was going to leave bruises and if he wasn't gripping her as hard then she would have felt bad. Zoro apparently had the same feeling of complete death traps as she did, absolute hatred. There were various sharp twists and turns and loops that left Addy out of breath and completely directionless. She was not even sure which way was up at this moment.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a minute, Addy could feel themselves slow down to the gentle pace of a ship at full speed. They entered a tunnel lite by torches and Addy could feel the heavy moisture in the air. Now that Addy could see, she felt like they were heading down.

"I think we are under the river," Addy said.

"Really?! Cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I guess it is."

"No its not! What if the roof above us starts breaking?!" Usopp asked.

"I highly doubt that. More likely the bandits have it so that the tunnel would start flooding in from water collected from the ocean. You know to kill any people who might be trying to escape." As she said that there was a rushing sound of water. A lot of water. Addy turned around to barely see a massive wave of water approaching them. Nami turned and gave her a death glare before prompting yelling at Luffy to make this thing go faster. He pushed the lever down to increase the speed and off they went again leaving the water trying to play catch up.

"You know I hope Luffy does not push it too hard," Addy replied. "Otherwise the break might snap."

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!" Nami and Usopp said simultaneously. Only to see Luffy hold up the broken lever with a large grin on her face. Now she had two death glares instead of one.

"Okay look the situation can't get much worse I mean it's not like there are multiple tracks or anything." Suddenly the carts shifted tracks and instead of heading down, they were going off to the side. "You know I think I am going to keep my mouth shut."

"You do that," Nami huffed. The train was hurdling at a rapid pace now. However, Addy could see a light and the rocketed towards it, only to see that the track ended abruptly and they were freefalling through the air.

"Gomu, Gomu no Fusen!" Luffy called out getting out of the mine cart and jumping so that he was below the mine carts. He inhaled air until he was literally a giant balloon. The carts bounced up and down on top of his stomach until they landed on the ground, battered but alive.

Addy undid the harness and collapsed out of the mine cart. The others basically did the same. She felt a bunch of hands on her and she opened her eyes to see some of the concerned villagers looking down at her, including Paisley who was stuck between laughing and crying. Addy looked around and saw that they landed directly in the middle of a wheat field.

"Sorry about that," Addy said.

"Sorry, you're sorry?" Paisley asked. "Do you even know what you did?"

"Destroy your crop field?"

"Well, yes. But you also chased off the bandits. We saw there ship leaving only for it to crash directly into the rocks." No surprise there. "We are going to have a party to celebrate tonight."

"Sounds lovely," Addy said before drifting off.

…

She woke up sometime later in the doctor's house fully bandaged up. It was a simple place, medicines lined the wall. Numerous beds for patients. Addy could hear the sounds of merriment outside and when she looked out the window she saw that it was nighttime but there were numerous lights on and sounds of music and laughter filled the air even inside the building. The smell of food was wafting through the window.

Paisley was looking at her with a glint in her eye and a bottle in hand. Addy took it and glug it down, putting it down on the bedside table only for Paisley to hand her another.

"You probably should not be drinking with your condition," Paisley said.

"Minor detail," Addy replied sipping at this one. "How long has it been going on?"

"Only a few hours. Started when the first of your friends woke up, the guy in the Straw Hat. You're the last one up."

"Hope they're not causing too much trouble."

"Oh, they are an absolute blast once they figured out that you were not going to die on them. Doc had to basically throw them out."

"Really?" Addy still found it surprising that they stuck so close to her.

"Really."

Addy got out of bed and carefully stood up. She was wrapped up tightly in bandages and probably should not be moving but right now she needed out.

"Joining us?" Paisley smiled.

"No, not yet I need time…"

"To think?" Addy smiled at her. Paisley got it. Addy left out of the back door and walked the narrow path towards the beach. The smell of the ocean calmed her immensely and the feel of sand between her toes brought out that playful side of her. Addy walked towards the ocean until the gentle waves lapped at her feet.

"What should I do?" she asked seemingly to no one. She took out her locket and opened it up. The picture was undamaged thankfully though the case was a little cracked. Addy would repair it later. She sat down on the sand and stared at Ocean, not caring that the tide was coming in. The moon was bright tonight and it reflected in the waves giving them a silvery glow.

She felt more than she saw someone approach her. Having a good guess as to who it was she turned to see Luffy smiling at her. Hadley was standing not too far away, clearly having led him here. Addy beckoned her closer and she ran forward and leaped into her lap. Addy smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Shouldn't you be at the party devouring everything in sight?" she asked Luffy.

Luffy grinned and handed her a plate of fish. Her breath hitched. He actually noticed. "Not a party until everyone joins," he replied. He extended his hand towards her and Addy looked at for a second before turning to look at him. Looking into his eyes she saw two things, absolute love and a burning undercurrent. A dream so strong it meant everything. Addy was seeing the same look that Riley had given her so many times, the same look she used to see in herself before…

"Tell me, do you think you can be the Pirate King?" she asked him.

He looked at her and laughed. "I will be Pirate King," he answered. Tears flew down her eyes and she started laughing as well. Hadley looked at the two of them confused.

"What's so funny," she asked crossing her arms. Addy continued laughing holding her in her arms as she got up and walked with Luffy towards the celebration.

"Hopefully you will understand someday," Addy answered.

…

The party was an absolute mob scene. Addy being thanked left and right by people she didn't even know lived in the village. Was there a secret hidden village somewhere?

Addy ended up drunkenly dancing with Nami and Paisley, and regular dancing with Luffy who was so bad he might as well have been drunk. Usopp was busy spinning wild tales that were clearly lies but the children were enraptured. Zoro was basically drinking through the entire villages' supply of alcohol, though Nami and Addy were giving him a run for his money. Addy was half tempted to drag him into a dance but he glared at her when she even made the suggestion.

It went on for hours, the stars were high in the sky and there was merriment all around. Things started winding down about an hour before dawn. Once people started collapsing in a stupor Addy went back to the beach and laid down in the sand. Her cheeks were flushed and she would have a killer hangover in the morning but it was worth it. As she closed her eyes to fall asleep and the music merged with the sound of the gentle waves, Addy felt at peace.

"Dad," she whispered, the words caught by a sea breeze. "I know this is an odd request but can you make sure that my mother knows that I am okay and that I've found a new home." Addy smiled as the waves washed over her without her moving. Tomorrow she was going to set off for the Grand Line, for Paradise and the New World. For Laugh Tale, where they will find the One Piece and who knows what else. Addy laughed and thought 'Riley, I finally found the right person. Now all I have to do is make sure that he becomes Pirate King.'


	10. Tides Come In Part 10

Addy woke up to see Luffy standing over her with big black owl eyes and a gigantic smile. He was like a cross between a puppy and an owl. Paisley was standing beside him with a glass in one hand and pills in the other. She grabbed the pills and water a downed them before turning to Luffy.

"So when are we leaving?" she asked.

"Nami said as soon as you're ready. She already packed your stuff. It's on the Merry now."

"Great, I will meet you by the docks. There are some things I need to do first."

"Okay," Luffy left, heading off, probably towards the Merry.

"The Merry at the dock?" Addy asked getting up with Paisley's help.

"Yes, it is. It's quite something."

"Somehow I don't like the sound of that."

"Oh, it's a good ship. I just don't think it is what you are expecting."

"When do I ever get what I am expecting?"

Addy and Paisley walked back to the inn, taking the same path that they always did. Who knows when Addy would be able to walk this path again. Chances are she would not be back for years. If she came back at all. The people waved as they walked, still thanking Addy for what she did though she told them that she did not do all that much. It was mostly the others who did all the work. Without each of them, Luffy, Zoro… even Nami and Usopp she would have not made it. Now they are her Nakama, and she is theirs.

When they reached the inn. Paisley closed the door and flipped the open sign to close. It was basically decreed that today would be a holiday mostly because nobody could function after last night's party. Those were the best kinds of holidays. Hadley was sitting on the stairs heading up towards the rooms when Addy came in she launched herself and gripped her legs.

"Are you really going?" she asked. Addy could tell she was trying to hold back tears.

"Yes, I am. It's time," she replied.

"Will you come back?"

"Maybe someday Hadley, I cannot make any promises. Adventures are lying in wait out there and who knows where they are going to take me."

"You are really going to be a pirate?"

"I was always a pirate Hadley. I was born a pirate, raised as a pirate. I will live the rest of my life as a pirate and I will die as a pirate. Sailing under that waving black flag. But I promise you, Hadley, I am going to be the best possible pirate I can be."

Hadley nodded sniffling but let her go. Addy walked up the stairs and into the room where she had stayed in. Going over it once to make sure that Nami did not miss anything. After seeing that she did a pretty thorough job, Addy got into the shower to wash out the sand covering her body. Sand will always and forever be a problem. The stuff gets everywhere. Fighting a Devil Fruit sand user in the desert would be one of Addy's worst nightmares. Crocodile flashed in her mind but she dismissed it. Whatever reason would they have for fighting him? At least currently. She would be more than willing to take down those government dogs once she got stronger.

After getting all the sand off, Addy put back on her clothes. Before she left for downstairs she lingered for a while. This room had become a home away from home of sorts. Ever since that merchant ship randomly stopped here and she decided to get off. Originally it was a temporary resting stop but now…. It was something more. She will always have fond memories of this place but it was time for her to go home.

Home.

Addy sprinted towards the docks in excitement. Waving goodbye as she ran past. Home, she was going home. With her Nakama and her ship, they were going to sail until the end of the seas and perhaps even beyond that. Reaching the docks she stopped to see the Going Merry in all its glory.

It was a caravel. With two levels that led to the inside of the ship and staircases that offered access to the different decks. Addy saw that they did not yet have a pirate mark. 'That will change soon,' she thought. The figurehead was that of a sheep with horns. Addy laughed.

"So that is why it's called the Going Merry," she said.

"What is that?" Nami asked. Addy turned towards her.

"You know, Mary had a little lamb. His fleece was white as snow."

Nami looked at her, then back at the ship and then back at her again. "I think you're the first person to point that out. Do not mention that to Luffy because then we will hear nothing but the rhyme for the rest of time. Anyway, would you like a tour?"

"No thanks." Nami looked at her surprised. "I will get to know her later." Nami shrugged and lead her to the ladder that went down the side of the ship. Climbing up Addy could already feel the warmth and the love the ship exuberated, though there was a sense of wariness as well.

'You and I will get along fine' she thought. Now that she was on board Addy got a real sense of the ship's layout.

"Where are the others?" she asked Nami.

"Still in town getting some more supplies, the village is basically giving stuff away."

"You sent Usopp to make sure that they would not get lost, did you?"

"Pretty much, your stuff is in my… well, I guess our room now."

"Sure thing, I am going to explore a bit."

Nami waved her off and laid down on a lounge chair relaxing in the sun. Addy went off to the most important room in her mind, the helm. Climbing up the stairs she got an overview of the whole ship, small but comfortable. Addy would be happy here. Merry was still being quiet but what could Addy expect. She was still a stranger. Once Luffy got here that would change.

Addy opened the door to the helm, which also looked like it was the kitchen as well as a general meeting room. However, when she spotted what she was looking for Addy whistled through her teeth.

'This is going to be tricky,' she thought looking at the steering pole. There was no clear way to look out to sea and watch the currents other than through the door. Addy was going to have to rely on her instincts and skill as well as Nami's if they were going to make this work.

'I would kill for a wheel,' she thought taking the steering pole in hand. It melded right with her. As if Addy was a part of the ship. 'This is good and I always did enjoy a challenge.'

"ADDDDDDDDDDDDY!" Luffy called. She let go of the wheel and walked out the door and leaped over the railing, landing gently on the main deck.

"Set sail to the Grand Line," Luffy called out looking at her. The rest turned as well looking like they half expected her to perform some sort of magic spell.

"Well first things first," she said. "We need to lift up the anchor." They turned towards Zoro who pulled up the anchor in less time than it took for Addy to finish the sentence and looked back towards her. "And now we wait."

"That's it?" Nami asked.

"Pretty much, if we sailed off now we end up getting smashed into those rocks over there." Addy pointed to where the wreckage of the bandit's ship lay. "Now I say we have to give it about 20 minutes so that the current is in the correct position with the tide so that we can sail out of here and actually hit the current we need to get out of here directly and into East Blue. Three of them stared blankly at her but Nami looked at her brightly.

"I get it. With the tide comes or out a change in the currents occurs leading to or from the beach. Normally this current would lead you astray however during a certain time in the tides you can actually hitch a ride to the main current."

"Basically, it's a bit more complicated than that. With most places, you can normally sail out. Here there are various hidden currents underneath the surface which occasionally run into each other. As the tides change the currents move as well. So while at one point everything might be fine, the next you can find yourself heading directly for a cliff. We are going to have to actually time it right because we will be sailing through multiple currents until we get on the one that takes out of here safely."

"What do we have to do then?" Usopp asked.

"Whatever Nami tells you to do." Addy answered. "We will set off in 17 min."

"Yosh," Luffy said. Using his stretchy arms to launch himself on top of the figurehead.

"Is it really safe for him to be there?" Addy asked.

"It's his special seat," Zoro answered as if that explained everything. Addy nodded and turned back towards the helm. Nami started telling Usopp and Zoro what to do with the sails. Addy trusted Nami knows what she is doing. She was a brilliant navigator. Taking the pole in hand she sent off a small prayer to Ocean for safe travels.

After what seemed like no time had passed Addy felt a subtle shift in the waves. Addy gently shifted the pole to the left keeping a close eye on what she could see of the waves from the open door. Addy started counting the second off in her heads if she was even off by one than it was goodbye Straw Hats.

Once she counted to 135 she made a hard right turn, they had to jump currents before the ship would be pulled to the rocky shore. Now comes the hard part. Turning sharply to the left she stayed on that course for barely a minute before turning a hard right. Waited another minute before making a sharp left. Addy was going to have to do this for 20 minutes before hitting the current that would actually take them out of the island's danger zone.

"What are you doing?" Usopp came in asking, just as Addy was making another hard turn throwing him into the wall.

"I am making a zig zag pattern across the currents, it's the only way to make sure that we aren't trapped and dragged towards the deadly rocks." Addy pushed towards the other direction throwing Usopp and probably the others onto the other side of Merry. "Nami got you controlling the sails?"

"USOPP! LUFFY! Come down here and help Zoro!" Usopp scurried off as best as he could considering the rocking of the ship. Addy whispered some words to Merry and that seemed to have calmed down her rocking motions. They were a lot less rough and more manageable. Once Addy felt a slight dip in the ship she quickly turned the ship so that it was horizontal. However, instead of going straight on, the current was pulling the ship horizontally out towards the open ocean.

"Addy, what's going on?" Nami called.

"Don't worry this is normal," she answered. "It should only last a few minutes, like five at the most."

"You seemed really relaxed about this."

"Nami when I said I was the best helmsman you will probably ever meet, I wasn't joking. Even the tricky part of this is a cakewalk. Just make sure that they don't destroy the sails or something."

"Oh, they will be fine. Luffy thinks it's the coolest thing in the world right now." Just then there was another dip that the ship made and Addy quickly maneuvered the ship so that it was facing straight on. They were in the clear.

"How did you do that? You moved the ship barely touching the pole. Usually, we have to yank it completely to one side or another."

Addy looked at her in complete horror. Her imagination conjured up images of Luffy or Zoro breaking the thing in half. She said something about skill and the proper way to treat a caravel and Addy had the feeling it turned into a lecture for a good while because the next thing she knew it Nami shoved a tankard in her hand and pulled her outside.

Luffy was sitting there on the deck grinning, Usopp was next to him and Zoro was leaning on the mast. They all had tankards in hand.

"What is going on?" Addy asked.

Luffy grinned. "You are our new Nakama which means it's time to celebrate."

"I… wait what?"

"You're a Straw Hat now," Luffy said.

"Forever?" she asked.

Luffy started laughing long and hard and when he looked up again there were tears in his eyes, "Silly, Nakama are forever."

She looked at Luffy and then turned to face all the others as well. Usopp and Zoro were spouting grins. Nami was giving a bright smile, but there seemed to be something sad to. As if her mind were on other things, and she did not quite believe what Luffy was saying. She will soon though. After all Luffy had managed to convert Addy. Whatever was going on with Nami Luffy would stop at nothing to help her and therefore neither would Addy.

She looked back at Luffy, who had gotten up and was standing right in front of her expectantly. Addy lifted up her tankard, "Whatever you say… Captain. Now are we going to Kanpai or what?"

They all gathered closely together and lifted up their drinks in the air, shouting Kanpai for the entire world to hear. After that, they all had their own little Straw Hats party. It wasn't anything big or grand but it was like family coming together. All the little pieces fit. As the sun began to set Addy volunteered to take first watch, she was after all the newest crew member.

As the others went to bed Addy walked across the deck, sitting on the railing right beside the figurehead.

"So are you going to talk to me now?" she asked seemingly talking to the air. "I promise I won't tell them if you don't want me to."

" _No that's okay, I would not mind,_ " a gentle feminine voice spoke. " _How can you hear me?"_

"You already know the answer to that, but please tell me about yourself, everything and anything you can think of."

The voice laughed. " _There are only three things you need to know and you know two of them already. My name is Going Merry, I am the Straw Hats pirate's ship, and I am going to sail with you guys forever._ "


	11. Empty Minds, Empty Boxes Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second arc of the story. It is entirely based on episode 18 of the anime. A lot of the dialogue is taken directly from a fan translated version so if there are any major errors let me know. And always please review.

Technically it had been less than 24 hours since Addy joined and already major changes needed to be made. For one if they were actually pirates then they were going to need a pirate mark. She was on the dock, looking up to the crow's nest where their flag should be waving. When she brought it up to Luffy he decided to start working on one and settled down in a corner with several buckets of paint and a large black cloth. Zoro was taking a nap while Nami was sitting down looking at various maps. Usopp was by the figurehead doing something before jumping down a swinging a stick around. He had a very active imagination.

"C'mon, you guys. Show some interest in other people…" Usopp started to say before Luffy jumped up and interrupted him.

"All done!" Luffy called out, causing Usopp to jump back. Addy turned around to look at what Luffy made. He was holding it in both hands his arms stretched out so they could see it fully. She had to blink a couple of times to be sure of what she was seeing. While it wasn't the worst piece of art…. That was all Addy could say about it.

"Look! A pirate flag!" Luffy said. Well, Addy could give him credit there. Technically it was a pirate flag. "Now that Addy's joined and we have five people, we need to have our own mark."

Zoro had the exact same expression that she did. "That's our mark?" he asked stunned.

Luffy was grinning madly. "Whadya think? Nice, huh?!"

"A pirate flag is a symbol of death. A symbol of fear," Zoro responded.

"I do sense fear, though. Fear of your talent," Nami added in. Thankfully one of them could give an honest opinion.

"It is not quite what I imagined," Addy said.

" _I think it's cute,_ " Merry said.

Addy rolled her eyes, "A pirate flag is not meant to be cute."

Usopp started tutting, "Wish you would've told me first," he said. "Don't forget about me, the gifted artist."

"Gifted artist?" Luffy asked. Addy was questioning this as well. Nami and Zoro looked as equally doubtful.

"I've drawn graffiti on walls for 50 years straight," Ussop replied. Well, at least one part of that answer was possible. "When it comes to painting, I'm in a league all my own." Compared to the rest of the crew maybe, though Addy would have to see his talent in action before making that judgment.

"Awesome! 50 years?" Luffy asked astounded.

"That means he's an old man now," Zoro stated. Usopp started looking a little less boastful.

"Not only that, he must have 5 or 6 grandkids by now," Nami added in.

"Perhaps even a few great-grandkids," Addy chipped in.

"That's awesome too," Luffy said.

"Hey," Usopp stated. "I am not that old." Nami, Zoro, and Addy started laughing while Luffy looked confused.

"Whatever Usopp, will be the judge of your skill after you get it done," Addy said heading back to the helm. She needed to adjust their course slightly. The rest broke off as well doing various other things.

" _I am sure that it will be great_ ," Merry said.

"I hope for all our sakes it is," Addy answered.

After adjusting their course Addy came back down and sat beside Nami on the deck, watching Usopp with mild interest.

After what seemed like no time at all he appeared to be finished.

"Alright. Behold this work of art," he said. Zoro and Luffy stood on either side of him. He held it up for all of them to look at. While it was miles better than Luffy's attempt there was still something wrong with it. That being it wasn't Luffy's flag.

"Who told you to make your flag?" Luffy said. Both him and Zoro punched Usopp in the head. That must have hurt. At this rate, they were going to use most of their supply of black cloth.

Usopp started again but this time they stood over him. Addy admitted that he had a marvelous technique and when he was done she whistled appreciatively.

"I guess that's more like it," Ussop said.

"Wow, it's pretty good," Nami said.

"Yeah. It's good. I like it," Luffy said.

"So this is our mark," Zoro added in.

" _Can we have it on the sail as well,"_ Merry asked?

"Alright. Usopp. Draw one on the sail, too."

"Looks like Captain had the same idea," Addy said.

"Right," Usopp stated.

It took him a few hours but Usopp got it on the sail for the entire world to see. Addy swelled with pride, this is the mark of the future pirate king. The mark that she will sail under.

"Alright. All done," Luffy called out standing directly behind the figurehead. It was indeed. They had two pirate flags, one flying from the crow's nest and the other at the back of the ship on top of the red and white sail. That plus the giant mark on the sail made sure that everyone knew who they were. "Now the Going Merry pirate ship is all set." Addy could hear him laughing.

Usopp was collapsed on the ground exhausted and the rest of them were sitting around him with Zoro having his back to the mast.

"I'm pooped," Usopp stated. Addy did not blame him in the slightest.

" _Addy, I think a storm is coming_ ," Merry said. Addy could feel the wind starting to pick up.

"Is this the right way? It seems kinda dangerous," Luffy said. They all got up and turned towards what Luffy was looking at. A massive black cloud on the horizon.

Nami grabbed one of her maps and started studying it, "Wait," she said. Usopp and Addy turned towards her. She quickly dashed to the storage room and came back with a pair of binoculars. Walking up the stairs towards the figurehead Usopp, Zoro and Addy followed her.

Addy was not sure what she was seeing but apparently made Nami excited. "That's it," she said. "That's the place. No doubt about it." She put the binoculars down.

"Do you see something neat?" Luffy asked.

"The legendary Treasure Island," she replied.

"The legendary Treasure Island? I've heard of that before," Usopp stated.

"The legendary what now?" Addy asked.

"Treasure Island, it's a famous island among pirates," Nami said. "As are the weird stories about it."

"Weird stories?" Luffy asked. Addy was thankful that she wasn't the only one who was completely clueless here. Perhaps it was only famous among East Blue Pirates. Because no one in their right minds would name an island Treasure Island. That was just asking for trouble.

"Yeah, that whoever gets near the island incurs a god's wrath," Nami replied. Oh, it's one of those stories then. Nothing to be worried about.

The ship had sailed into the storm as they were talking and lighting was threatening to strike the mast. As the thunder, boomed Usopp let out a loud shriek. Addy was unsure if that was because of the storm or the not so scary story Nami just told. She hoped it was the storm.

The waves were starting to get rough as well. Addy made a mad dash for the helm, moving quickly across the ship. When she got there she grabbed the pole with both hands in an attempt to hold it steady.

She started to turn away from the storm when Nami called out. "Addy we are heading to the island. Keep the ship as straight as possible. It's right in front of us."

"No problem, she called back, hoping that the wind did not carry her voice away. She guided the ship making sure to avoid the larger waves. Merry was telling her what was happening outside, warning her when various waves were approaching. Since the wind was with them it wasn't long until they reached the island though they had to drop anchor a little bit away from the beach. The ocean too chaotic for them to get close. After Zoro dropped the anchor Addy came out and took a good look at the island. It looked like several rocks stacked on top of each other, with a forest covering them, like moss on a stone. Lighting flashed adding to the drama.

"Let's go," Luffy called out.

"Wait a second," Nami said. The three of them were standing beside her with Luffy behind them. We should wait for the storm to pass than see if we can get clos-" She did not get a chance to finish as Luffy launched them all towards the shore. Luckily the sand was soft and wet so it did not get all over them and they all managed to land fairly intact which was good considering some of them still had injuries from the Bandit King.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Nami screamed conking Luffy on the head. Addy figured she might be at it for a while so she helped Usopp up since he got his head stuck in the sand. Zoro was already up and surveying their surroundings.

"Thanks," he replied. "Luffy sure knows how to make a landing."

"I don't think we know the worst of it," Addy answered. Usopp let out a shudder.

After raging at him for a few minutes Nami calmed down. Looking around she spotted what looked like an opening in the tree line and headed towards it. The rest of them followed if only to get out of the rain though Addy would have been happy staying where she was for a few more moments.

It was more rainforesty than the forest on the previous island though luckily there was not too much in their way. Zoro had to get out his swords a couple of times grumbling about it but they were making their way through at a steady pace. Usopp looked around nervously and had his hands up in case he needed to grab onto Zoro for whatever reason. Luffy was right behind Nami and Addy was behind Luffy with Zoro and Usopp following her. After a plant that had more teeth than necessary scared Usopp, he started to cling to Zoro.

"This is one creepy island," Usopp stated.

"I don't know about that…" Addy started to say.

"No, you are from the Grand Line. You don't get to decide what is creepy, or scary, or dangerous."

Addy shrugged not faulting his logic. They did have very different parameters for what to consider scary after all.

"It's said that an extraordinary treasure rests somewhere on this island," Nami said. Right, treasure. That is what they were looking for. Addy was always good for treasure hunting. "Supposedly, lots of pirates have landed here in the past, but they've all fled in terror before they could even look for it."

"In terror?" Luffy asked.

"Why in the world would they do that?" Addy asked as well. It seemed too implausible for an island in East Blue to have this sort of reputation.

"Supposedly, one pirate's face suddenly changed into a boar's face," Nami answered. "And another's mustache stretched out and strangled him like snakes."

"That's not real, right?" Ussop asked quaking.

"Though I'm sure the stories are exaggerated somewhat," Nami continued.

"They would have to be. Otherwise, there are two Devil Fruit users on this island that kill people," Addy stated. That did not seem to help Usopp's nerves at all as he clung even tighter onto Zoro.

"Don't scare me like that," Usopp said from behind Zoro.

Zoro however yawned and wander off the path leaving Usopp standing there. "I'm going to sleep," he said. Laying on the ground beside his swords. He fell asleep immediately. That had to be some kind of talent.

"How can he sleep in a creepy place like this?" Usopp asked.

"Yeah, what kind of nerves does he have?" Nami wondered.

"Some questions are better left unanswered," Addy replied though she was somewhat jealous. She wished she could sleep that easily.

Addy turned around and spotted Luffy crouched down. He was looking at something in the bushes. "Captain?" she asked when she walked towards him. Usopp yelped about something and she turned around only to see him doing this crazy little dance. Ignoring him and Nami she turned back to face Luffy only to see what could only be described as a cross between a poodle and a duck walk in front of her. Okay, she must be massively drunk at this point. She only had a couple of shots today. Maybe she should think about taking things easier if she was hallucinating abominations against nature.

Looking back up she could see that they were surrounded by numerous red eyes. Nami backed towards her gripping her arm. The four of them were surrounded. Each of them had their backs turned so they were facing the center.

"What is this?" she asked.

"Wait you can see all this as well?" Addy asked.

"Yeah of course."

"Well that is slightly reassuring." Addy let her hand drop to her whip, ready to use it at a moment's notice.

"Leave," a male voice called from the trees.

"Who's there?" Luffy called out.

"Leave," the voice said again.

"Where is it coming from?" Nami asked.

"I am this island's protective god," the voice said. Addy gripped her whip and snarled, startling Nami. She hated people who pretended to be gods. Caused nothing but grief. The false god saying that however made sure that Usopp stayed quiet. Usopp really needs to get out more. "Leave this island alone at once if you value your lives."

"Protective god?" Luffy asked. Please for everything that is sacred don't let Luffy actually believe this weird guy.

"You guys are pirates aren't you?" the voice spoke. Well, that's official. If it was a true god it would know who they were.

"Yeah," Luffy answered.

"Pirates, just as I thought."

"Why would a god ask something like that?" Nami asked.

"They wouldn't unless they weren't a god," Addy answered.

"Listen. Just try to take another step into this forest," the voice said. "The instant you do, will you receive my divine punishment and meet your doom?"

Addy sighed. This guy was a moron.

"How should I know? Why are you asking me?" Luffy responded.

"What's the deal?" Nami asked.

"We are dealing with a crazy guy in the woods. Can we move on?" Addy said.

"This guy seems kinda weird," Luffy said cocking his head towards Nami and Addy.

"What did you say Straw Hat boy?" the voice called.

With that the animals started coming out of the woods, each looking weirder than the next. It's like someone cut up animals and stuck them on randomly.

"What are these things?" Ussop asked. The bizarreness of these creatures shocked him into saying something.

"A very good question," Addy responded staring at what had to be a rhino kangaroo. She knew what the animals were going to be if they got any closer to her Nakama. Dead.


	12. Empty Minds, Empty Boxes Part 2

"Humans," the voice called out again. Addy was starting to get sick of hearing it. Briefly, she wondered how Zoro managed to stay asleep this entire time. "I completely transformed when they came to look for the treasure." Addy hesitated. If the guy did have a Devil Fruit with this power then it could be an actual problem.

"Then you really are a god?" Usopp asked. He got down on one knee and clasped his hands in front of him. The two of them were gonna have a long conversation about false gods.

"No you idiot," Addy said. "He is a guy with a Devil Fruit ability. Granted sometimes it's easy to confuse the two but this is not one of those cases."

"Look at all these weird things," Luffy said. He actually picked up one and held it to his face. It was a pig with a lion's mane. "Is this a lion?" he asked.

"Are you sure it's not a pig," Nami responded.

Suddenly the pig lion thing reached out and bit Luffy's face, stretching out his skin. It was immensely unnerving. The pig let go and Luffy dropped it, rubbing his hands over his face.

"What exactly are you?" the voice called out. Okay, so not a Devil Fruit user then. He would have known. Which meant that these animals were not actually created artificially. Addy thought that was far more frightening.

"I'm a rubber person. I ate a Devil Fruit," Luffy said stretching out his cheek with a finger.

"Devil Fruit. Don't be absurd," the voice said. "I heard rumors about long ago when I used to be a pirate, but…"

"When you used to be a pirate?" Nami asked. Wow, this guy was bad at this. Addy was almost starting to feel sorry for him.

"N-No. I'm not reminiscing about old times at all. No, I don't what to hear about old times at all."

"What're you talking about?" Luffy asked. "You're the one who said it."

"Maybe this guy went insane after being trapped here for so long with all these crazy," Addy waved towards a random creature. "things."

"Are you really a god?" Nami asked.

"You really asking that?" Addy said. Nami had the decency to look sheepish.

"Shut up, If you won't leave, then receive my divine punishment."

As soon as he said that spears came out of the undergrowth heading towards them. Addy barely even had to dodge. Worst aim on the planet. All of them missed Zoro completely and he was on the ground fast asleep. Rocks also started falling from the trees one of them actually managing to hit Luffy. If he wasn't rubber it might have actually hurt him.

"Now you've done it," Luffy said.

"How are you alright ?" the voice asked. Addy could see one of the bushes moving violently.

"Over there," Luffy said. He took a step towards the talking bush.

"I said don't move." Addy heard what sounded like a gun being fired and Luffy taking a bullet stretching out his skin from where it landed. Nami and Usopp screamed and Addy looked in shock. There is no way in hell a bullet was going to take out her captain.

Sure enough, when he crouched down he sent the bullet flying into the sky along with his hat. Immunity to bullets. That will be immensely helpful if they fight Marines. And since they were pirates, they were going to fight Marines.

"That's impossible," the bush called out.

"Hey, God," Nami said. "A pistol is useless against him."

"Next time we gain a crew member remind me to tell them that," Addy said. Nami looked at her apologetically. Addy was feeling like she was recovering from a heart attack. She never got a chance to learn Luffy's immunity to firearms since all the bandits were armed with swords and other weapons. She took a drink out of her flask to calm her nerves.

Luffy got up and dusted off his hat placing it back on his head. "But I don't like being surprised," he said to the bush.

"Mon..Monster," Bush cried out running away and tossing the gun. Luffy and Addy started chasing after him leaving Nami and Usopp behind. The two of them ran until they reached a cliff overlooking the ocean. They had climbed a fairly high distance.

"Where did he go?" Luffy asked. Hearing a stick crack, Luffy and Addy turned around to see a large green bush sitting in a chest. They did not go too far since Nami and Usopp managed to catch up rather quickly.

"What is this?" Luffy asked.

"I have no bloody idea," Addy said.

"This is… God?" Usopp asked. Addy slapped him in the head for that remark.

The chest took off again with what looked like to be feet coming out from the bottom.

"It's moving," Nami said.

What the hell is this? Chests cannot move unless it was The Luggage but that was a different story. Apparently, the walking chest cannot see as it ran straight into a tree. The four of them walked towards it slowly not sure of what it would do next. Coincidently the clouds finally moved away from the sun lighting up the area allowing them to see the bush's…. face. Addy knew she had to be beyond drunk right now. This cannot possibly be a thing. Not even in the Grand Line has she run across anything this moronic.

"Just to make sure, that is a face right?" Addy asked.

"Yep," Usopp answered. Nami also nodded.

"Hurry and help me up," the man bush thing said. "Help me up."

"He's human," Nami said.

"You sure about that?" Addy responded.

"Interesting. Is it a bush?" Luffy asked.

"Where does he resemble god? Trying to fool us," Usopp said. Usopp was going to get the smallest fish tonight.

"Shut up. Help me up," man bush said again.

Usopp and Luffy got down and helped the chest up. Addy could see that there were also hands sticking out of the chest.

"I'll forgive you today," man bush said. Addy was growing more and more tempted to throw the guy off the cliff. He tried to run away again but Luffy grabbed onto the chest, his arm stretching as man bush got farther away. However, instead of pulling man bush towards them, Luffy was pulled towards man bush sending the two of them flying directly over the cliff. Addy could hear Luffy laughing as he fell down the cliff, the three of them watching him and man bush fall.

Just as Addy was prepared to jump down to rescue them when they fell into the water, Luffy somehow grabbed a branch sticking out of the cliff and launched himself, man bush and the stick up into the air. They landed not too far behind them. Thank the sea Luffy had decent aim; Addy really did not want to go traipsing through the woods looking for them. Luffy landed without a scratch, still laughing about the incident. Man bush was grumbling however and had a rather large bump on his head. Grabbing a bandage from her bag, Nami placed it over the bump.

"Right, that will be fine now," she said. Why they were helping him Addy had no idea. Two of the demented animals were licking his face and Addy had to suppress a shudder. The four of them were all staring at him and in the light Addy was able to get a better look.

Green busy hair and dark skin with a beard that looked like it hadn't been shaved in years. He looked like a guy that had been smashed into a chest and left there.

"You're pretty popular," Nami said.

"Until now you were using them to scare away those who came to the island, right?" Usopp asked.

"But this is the first time I've seen a man who lives in a box," Luffy said.

"You can say that again," Addy said. "Though why you don't get out of it…"

"I can't," box man said. "I have lived in this box for 20 years already, all alone." Yep, the guy has clearly gone insane.

"20 years," Nami said.

Usopp got a pink thermos out of his bag and poured something into the cup and started drinking. How much stuff did he have in that thing? Addy followed, taking a shot out of her flask.

"You've been on this island alone for 20 years?" Ussop asked.

"Look how much my hair and beard have grown," the box man said bowing his head. "Even my eyebrows have joined. And it's been 20 years since I spoken to people." Well, that explains his poor social skills. "Do you understand my position?"

"Why idiot?" Nami asked.

"What do you mean idiot?" he yelled.

At that moment Zoro approached yawning. "What the? You all over here?" he asked.

"Yes now take a seat and listen as we sit down and explain to box man why he is the dumbest moron on this side of Ocean," Addy said.

"You!" Nami exclaimed. "Even with all the commotion, you were able to sleep until now?"

Grabbing Usopp's cup out of his hands Zoro sat down on a rock. After taking a sip, it was only then that he noticed box man in front of him. He fell back off the rock and Addy and Nami and to stifle a chuckle.

"What's with this guy?" Zoro asked.

"Notice sooner," Nami said.

"He is a human who lives in a box," Luffy answered.

"So that is what you were talking about Addy," Zoro said.

"What else would I be talking about?" she asked him. He did not seem to have a response to that taking another sip out of the cup.

Luffy grabbed ahold of box man upper jaw. "Zoro help me out here," he said. Box man was struggling. Trying to free himself from his grip. Zoro walked up and grabbed what had to be his hair. Together the two of them tried to pull him out of the box.

"Ow, ow what are you doing?" Box man called out. Addy had to admit that on some level this was entertaining. "Stop it, my neck will break."

"It's true, you can't come out," Luffy said wiping off the sweat from his forehead.

"Don't be reckless," box man yelled at him. "After years inside my body has fit inside the treasure box perfectly. If you break the box, my body would be done for too.

"What a chatter box," Zoro said.

Box man sighed. "Who are you guys? There is something completely different about you compared to the pirates that came previously."

"Wait so you have met other pirates?" Addy asked.

"Yes."

"So why did you not ask them to help you out of the box before it became too late?" There was a moment of silence as they all stared at him.

"Anyway, who are you guys?" he asked again.

"I'm Luffy. The man who will be Pirate King."

"Wh- what?" Box man said shocked.

"I'm going to become the Pirate King and get One Piece."

"One Piece you say? You're not really planning to go to the Grand Line are you?"

"We even have a map to the Grand Line." Luffy held it up to show the box man.

"We have a map?" Addy asked.

"We got it off of Buggy," Nami said.

"Okay for the next crew member I am creating a briefing of important stuff that they need to know." Addy could feel a headache approaching and for once not from being hungover.

"Don't underestimate it," Box man said. "That place is hell's coffin. I have seen pirates that escaped from the Grand Line. They were spiritless like the undead. Whether something horrible happened to them or whether they met with terrible monsters, not one person was able to say anything." Luffy leaned forward wanting to catch every word. "Beyond that, there are so many rumors about One Piece that no one knows the truth anymore. The great pirate era has already lasted 20 years. One Piece is no longer a mere legend but a dream within a dream."

There was a pause and Luffy took a look at the map in his hands. In the midst of all this Zoro fell asleep again and Usopp was completely enraptured by what he was saying.

"And where is the Grand Line," Box guy asked.

"Who knows. Don't you know Bush?" Luffy asks.

"I don't understand maps at all."

"What the… were the same." The two of them started laughing.

"Nami can you please," Addy asked.

"Certainly. Is this how pirates talk amongst themselves?" She asked standing right in front of them. "Anyway if we get to the Grand Line we will need to get as much as possible and then get away as soon as possible."

"I'm sure we'll find the One Piece. I have good luck," Luffy said.

"Where do you get so much confidence from?"

"I'll definitely find it and show you."

"I give up, Addy you try. You are from the Grand Line."

"I don't think anything I say is going to convince him," Addy said. She looked at her captain who was smiling broadly. Yep, she made a good choice.

"You do resemble…" Box man started. Addy wondered where he was going with this. "Your face resembles mine, like a twin."

Nami ran up to him. "Where is the resemblance?"

"I knew it," Box man cried. Perhaps he was having a mental breakdown. "That one day our dreams would come true. We were always that way since the beginning."

"We?" Luffy asked.

"In order to find treasure, losing your life doesn't matter." Finally, Box man was starting to make sense. "It was that passion that changed my life." Addy took ahold of her locket.

"Wa-wait, what are you talking about?" Nami asked.

"It was 20 years ago." Oh, it was storytime. Addy disliked storytime. She considered joining Zoro for a nap but figured she might as well listen. Zoro actually got up as he started his tale, which was surprising. Although Addy herself was curious about how he got into the box after all.

It was actually rather simple. Box guy's crew searched for treasure on this island. They found nothing but an empty box. Box man spotted treasure chests up a cliff. He tried to climb up but failed and fell into the box. Crew left him behind because they did not notice he was missing and he has spent the past several years on the island. The one glimpse of treasure never left his mind. Which also explains why he has been using the animals to scare pirates away. It's still a mystery as to why he didn't ask any of them for help but somethings are better left to the ages.

"They are mine," he said finishing the tale.

Luffy nodded "There is no doubt about it. They're yours."

"Gaimon I understand," Nami answered. "I'll help you get those treasures."

"Really?" Gaimon asked. Luffy nodded.

Luffy turned towards Nami, "You're a thief of pirates aren't you?" he asked her. Well, that explained a few things. Addy knew next to nothing about most of her Nakama. Only exception was Usopp and he wasn't that big of a mystery.

"You," she shouted at Luffy. "That's rude. Even I get emotionally moved."

Gaimon looked like he was about to start crying. Addy didn't exactly care and neither did Zoro but when the Captain said they were going to do something who was she to try and stop him.


	13. Empty Minds, Empty Boxes Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end of this arc. It was fun. The next one is going to be All the Gold in the World and should be up soonish. As always please review and let me know what I can improve.

They all climbed on the back of a giant cow turtle monster and rode up to where the cliff was. Its footsteps echoed across the forest drowning out any other noise. Why does this monster exist? Did the Marines let Vegapunk on this island and this is what he came up with?

The ride was bumpy and uncomfortable. She was essentially smashed against Zoro, and Nami. Luffy was having a fascinating conversation with Gaimon out in front if all the laughing was any indication. Usopp piped in once in a while as well.

"What do you think about this?" Nami whispered in her ear. Because of how close the two of them were together they could essentially have a private conversation. Not that any of the others were paying attention anyway.

"I think we should move on and do something more productive with our lives. Don't get me wrong, I do feel bad for the guy but we cannot go around fixing every minor problem we come across," Addy replied.

"You're going to have problems with Luffy if you have that attitude."

"I am getting that feeling. Besides, I guess there are worse things we could be doing."

"Like what…"

Addy paused for a moment, "You know… I'm not sure."

Nami let out a laugh. "You will get used to it. A few 'adventures' from now you will understand. Though Luffy will always be insane."

"Got that right," Zoro whispered to them. So he was paying attention to their conversation. Nami shot him a glare. Hissed something about private conversations before turning back to Addy. She started grilling her about everything she knew about the Grand Line which much wasn't considering she spent most of her time in the New World rather than Paradise but she answered what she could.

Honestly, Addy did not know much about the Grand Line. She wasn't in charge of navigation and other than the fact that there seem to be fewer storms of any kind in East Blue there wasn't much of a difference. Sure the seasons were different as well, but Addy just thought that East Blue had a lot of spring islands. Not that unusual. Also had to consider that she did not do that much traveling around East Blue. She picked herself up every month and moved after she collected all the money she could from a particular island. It could just have been the luck of the draw.

After what seemed like days but was only a few hours, they reached the cliff where the supposed treasure was at. They all got off the monster with as much grace as possible, which wasn't much but at least none of them fell flat on their faces.

"Here huh?" Luffy asked. The cow-turtle walked off stomping away into the forest. Good riddance. The thing also stank. Addy would jump into the nearest body of water as soon as possible to get the smell off of her.

"I haven't been here in a long time," Gaimon said. Somewhat surprising considering how tiny the island is. How painful was this memory for him? All of them were looking up at the massive cliff. Easily climbable if you had working limbs. "Finally the time has come. Today's a good day. I'm counting on you Straw Hat."

"Okay," he said pulling his arm back. "Gomu, Gomu no…" he grabbed the edge of the cliff with his stretched out hand. "Rocket." Luffy launched himself in the air landing perfectly on the cliff.

He was up there for a little bit of time, however. Longer than it should have taken him. Usopp and Nami were guessing what the treasure could possibly be, turning it into a game. Zoro was as silent as ever looking up to where Luffy disappeared. Addy figured Luffy was slow but this was getting ridiculous.

"How is it?" Gaimon called up. "Do you see it?" There was no response. Addy wondered what was keeping him. Was there just so much treasure that Luffy was having trouble carrying it all? Was he distracted by a butterfly?

"What is he doing?" Zoro asked.

"I was hoping you would know," Addy answered.

"Luffy," Nami called up.

"Luffy," Usopp repeated.

"Captain," Addy said putting her voice into the mix.

"What's happening?" Nami asked.

It was then that they saw him, on the edge of the cliff a treasure chest in his hands.

"I've got it. Five treasure boxes," Luffy called down. Okay, so why did that take so long then? Did he have trouble with the locks or something?

Gaimon started laughing. Finally, he was going to see his treasure.

"Can you bring them down? My treasure?" he asked. "Hurry, Hurry."

Luffy grinned and turned his head so that he was facing them, his answer perfectly clear. No.

"What?" Gaimon said in shock. Addy stood there surprised as well. Perhaps she had underestimated Luffy. Maybe he was going to behave like an actual pirate instead of… whatever he normally acted as. Addy was still unsure about that. Nami and Usopp looked shocked as well.

Luffy had his giant grin on his face. "I said no. I don't want to give them to you."

"What nonsense are you saying? Stop joking." Nami said. Wow, Nami really had a heart. If it was anyone else, or any other treasure Addy suspected Nami would be telling Luffy to run to the ship, treasure in hand. She seemed to be obsessed with money.

"Yeah those treasures are Gaimon's," Usopp said. "Hand them all over."

Zoro stood impassively his eyes narrowing slightly. Something was up from the way Zoro was acting but Addy had no idea what. Not that it would matter what Luffy decided anyway. She and Zoro would follow him whatever his decision may be.

"You, stop this nonsense," Nami said.

"It's okay," Gaimon said. "It's okay."

"It's not okay," Nami said turning to face him.

"That's right," Usopp said also turning to face him. "You've guarded that treasure for 20 years."

"Straw Hat you're…" Gaimon hesitated slightly. "You're a really nice guy."

It was then Addy got it. She started laughing. Just her luck that she joins a crew with what had to be the nicest pirate captain on the planet. Hell at this point she would be surprised if they ever committed any crimes. They might never even get a bounty poster no matter how powerful Luffy becomes. As long as the Marines didn't arrest any of them of course.

"What do you mean?" Nami asked. "Addy, what is going on?"

Tears were streaming down Gaimon face. "I thought of it before. That maybe… Even though it's unbearable to think it." Luffy sat down on the cliff, his hat covering his eyes. "There's nothing inside is there?" Gaimon broke into full out sobbing.

Usopp and Nami looked at him surprised.

"Yeah, they're all empty," Luffy called down.

"No way… the treasures you guarded for 20 years are only empty boxes," Nami said. Addy could sense a twinge of sadness in her voice. Despite her brashness, Nami was maybe one of the most sympathetic people Addy has met.

"It's something that often happens with treasures," Gaimon said still crying. "Sometimes you reach them after the treasure has been taken. So… searching for treasure is a trial for pirates. Wasting a lifetime, sacrificing your own life. There are many pirates like that." Most pirates actually. Addy had only met a handful of crews who had managed to break that cycle and she could count them all on both hands. Whitebeards, Shanks to some extent, her mother's when she was still a pirate. There were some others as well but most…. Most ended up trapped. Whether or not the Straw Hats were going to one of those who break free, only time would tell.

Luffy out of the blue started laughing. "Don't be so sad old man," he called down. "Good thing we got here in the 20th year. If no one came in another 30 years you could have wound up dead."

"Straw Hat," he said.

"Luffy," Nami whispered.

"That guy," Usopp said.

Addy smiled. Perhaps this wasn't a bad first adventure at all.

"You just got sidetracked by this," Luffy said. "Now all that's left is the One Piece. Become a pirate with us once more." At that Addy's brain fried. He wants Gaimon to join them? Gaimon. She did not catch anything else, though Gaimon said something about trust and if Addy had a weakness trust was it. Even after… shaking her head she took a long drink. She supposed she could get used to Gaimon, maybe he would be a good storage manager or footstool or something.

Gaimon somehow called the cow turtle thing back and all of them rode it down to the shore. By the time they reached the bottom the sun was starting to set. Addy could see the Going Merry bobbing in the waves.

"Captain, I am going to go get Merry," she said. Luffy waved her off.

"Be careful," Usopp said. "Merry is a precious ship and…"

Addy clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, she is my home too." That seemed to settled him and he grinned at her.

With that Addy stepped into Ocean letting herself walk until the water reached her waist before plunging into the sea. She glided under the surface feeling the waves flow over her back and reached Merry in record time. Climbing up using the ladder on the side she swung onto the ship.

"I'm back," she said.

" _Good what happened? Anything exciting?"_

"Not much, helped some guy out. He might actually be joining us."

" _Really? I was hoping for more crew. What does he look like? How tall is he? Is he nice? Nobody is hurt are they?"_

"Honestly he is a bit hard to describe. You will see for yourself and nobody got hurt. Don't worry so much. Most of us are competent fighters."

" _Addy,"_

"Yes?"

"What?" Zoro responded climbing up the rope ladder. "I didn't say anything."

"Wait Zoro, what are you doing here?"

"You need someone to lift the anchor," he stated going over to do that. Addy continued to stare at him. That thought did not even cross her mind. There should be an automatic way to lift the anchor.

Once Zoro got it onto the ship, he went into the men's quarters, most likely to change out of his wet clothes. Addy went into the common room, grabbed the steering pole and she started to pilot Merry towards the coast.

" _You like him_ , _"_ Merry said.

"Of course I do, have you seen him?" Addy replied. "He is like a sex demon in human form."

" _He is in the middle of changing now. You could go interrupt him. I won't tell a soul."_

"Tempting as that is, I think not.

" _Why don't you do something?_ "

"Because the last time I acted on lust, I lost everything."

There was a brief silence between the two. " _Y_ our _Soul..."_ Merry said. " _They are not with you are they_."

"No," Addy said. She took one hand off the pole and brought it to her locket. "No, she is not."

"Oi," Zoro said once again interrupting the conversation. He changed into another one of his white shirts and black pants. He had a lot of those. "I dropped the anchor. We better meet up with the others." Apparently, Addy lined everything up correctly without herself even noticing. Merry's port side was facing the shore.

"Sure," Addy said. Suddenly Merry shifted so that they both stumbled and Addy fell directly into his arms. Both of them were blushing, Zoro more so than Addy.

" _It is more important than ever that you try to build something before you lose yourself in the darkness."_

Addy ignored her even though Merry was right. They would have a long conversation about it later. Zoro let her go; the two of them stared at each other for a second. Unsure of how to proceed. Zoro was not usually odd around women, he acted fine with Nami and most of the time with her is well. It's just in moments like these…

"Hey," Zoro said snapping her out of her daze. "Your injuries doing alright?"

"I should be asking you that question. You got more badly beat up than I did."

"It was nothing. All I need is a good nap, some booze, and I will be fine." Somehow Addy doubted that but she would humor him. This would take some time to figure out.

Instead of taking the ladder Addy just jumped onto the shore and walked over to the rest of them with Zoro quickly following her. Somehow Zoro got there first and stood beside Usopp. Addy just caught the conversation between them.

"Are you really going to stay on this island old man?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah Straw Hat," he replied. "Even if there are no treasures, there are other things for me to protect." Please don't say it's the dumb animals.

"I have lived with these guys for 20 years through hard times and happy times." It is the animals. "I can't just leave them." They started licking him again and this time Addy did not hide her disgust though, in essence, she was happy for him. They were his Nakama after all. "Knowing there is no treasure I feel free for the first time. From now on I'd like to live my life the way I want. In reality, I've begun to enjoy living in a box." Brain damage can do some crazy things to a person.

"I see. That's too bad because old man is so interesting," Luffy said.

"The strange creatures are your true companions huh," Zoro said.

"Hey, sometimes you don't get to choose your Nakama," Addy stated. Usopp and Zoro both smirked at that. Nami having the opposite reaction, frowning. Addy wished she knew what was going on with her.

"Though old man is the strangest," Luffy said.

"What did you say?" Gaimon yelled.

All of them started laughing, Addy could even hear Merry laughing alongside them.

" _This guy is funny,"_ Merry said. " _I wish he was coming with us."_

"We will meet other people," Addy said.

"I certainly hope so. I don't want to be stuck on this island for 20 more years without meeting anyone," Gaimon said. Addy almost faced palmed. 20 years and she still forgets that not everyone can hear the ship. It did not help that Merry was laughing at her.

"Yes right… hopefully new adventures for all of us then."

" _Nice save,"_ Merry said. Addy shot a death glare at the ship. This was her life now. Fantastic.

It wasn't much longer until they were all on They all climbed onto Merry and Addy once again took the helm. Everyone else was in the back waving goodbye. Turning the rod, Addy head directly towards the setting sun where new adventures were waiting on the waves. Hopefully one a lot more exciting. Perhaps with actual gold this time.


	14. All the Gold in the World Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is based off the first One Piece movie. A lot of the dialogue comes from a fan translation of the movie so if there are any major error let me know.

It was interesting what could happen in a short amount of time. It had only been nine days since Addy was recruited and already they were plagued by problems. After meeting Box guy, Luffy ate most of their supplies in two days and now it's been a week since any of them had food. Second and what concerned Addy more is that they have almost run out of alcohol and if it wasn't for her secret stash in her back she would have and third, apparently all fish decided to vacate the area for some unknown reason. They really needed a cook who knew something about moderation. Or could at least prevent Luffy from eating everything in sight. The only good news about the entire situation was it gave them time to heal from the Bandit King. All of them had basically recovered, though Addy still felt twinges of pain every once in a while.

Addy was standing next to Nami by the figurehead, watching Zoro and Luffy lay down on the deck complaining about their circumstances.

"The cloud looks tasty," Luffy said. Addy glanced up and could sort of see his point. It did look a bit like a pufferfish.

"I can't even drool anymore," Zoro said.

Nami was standing by the figurehead just watching the ocean. Addy would ask where they are going but she trusted her judgment. She had something on her mind though.

" _Is Nami alright,"_ Merry asked her. Not wanting to look like a crazy person she whispered under her breath.

"Yes, but I am wondering where she is leading us. Not that I don't trust her but I am curious."

" _I don't know exactly. She mentioned something about gold and a man named Woonan but the rest she kept to herself."_ Woonan. That name sounded familiar but Addy could not remember from where and she didn't know how to ask Nami without being suspected of eavesdropping. Which she kinda was but that was details. Nami was so preoccupied that when she brought up the binoculars she did not even notice that Luffy jumped up on the railing right in front of her. She yelped in surprise and Addy let out a small chuckle.

"Did you find anything to eat?" he asked her.

She grabbed him and started shaking wildly with an angry look on her face. "Don't scare me like that, Luffy. What on earth were you thinking?"

"I got, got, got, got it, finally got it," Usopp called out. Addy turned towards him to see him yanking hard on the fishing pole. He looked really excited almost like he was doing a little dance. "This pole is really heavy. This has to be the largest elephant tuna in the world!" Addy already knew that was not the case. "Brace yourself, you're gonna eat until your stomach explodes!"

Instead of a fish, however, Usopp pulled up a glass bottle. "Just kidding," he said trying to cover up his mistake.

At some point, Nami put Luffy down and she turned away from Usopp, "I'll never fall for that joke," she said as Ussop started it up again.

"It's here, I got it… its coming!" Usopp said.

"If this goes on for two more days we'll all starve to death," Zoro said.

" _He's not serious is he?_ " Merry asked worry laced in her voice. Addy shook her head. It would take about roughly 30 days and they luckily still had plenty of water. Merry sighed in relief.

"Of all things, who's fault is it that we are all starving?!" Nami asked. She was pacing back and forth angrily. "I worked very hard to store one month's worth of food for this long journey… And who exactly ate it all in three days? Luffy, it was you, wasn't it?!" She stopped in front of Luffy and stared angrily at him.

Luffy equally as angry lifted up his hand and showed two fingers as if he was bragging, "Two days!" he said.

"Don't brag about it! Anyways go catch a bird or a fish or something!"

" _Addy_ ," the Merry said. " _There are some people sneaking up the rope ladder_."

"What? Where?" Addy asked.

" _Behind the cabin_." Addy walked calmly so as to not tip them off. Luffy was yelling about something but Addy was more concerned about finding the intruders. Addy saw out of the corner of her eye the three boys fighting over something? Rice?

"Pathetic… I was an idiot," Nami said. "Why did I ever join these idiots?" Nami was heading in the same direction as the intruders so Addy walked by her side. When they turned the corner they ran into the three of them holding large sacks.

"Oh, hello," one of them said. He had bright pink hair and was wearing a jacket with a white buttoned up shirt and a bow tie. The two guys next to him were also in ridiculous outfits. Just like them to be robbed by people with no fashion sense.

"That's my treasure," Nami said. "Who are you, people?"

The three of them bowed and the pink-haired guy continued talking. Apparently, he was their leader. "I'm sure you are perfectly aware of who we are. So long." They turned to leave. Addy saw her chance and took it.

Signaling to Nami that she was going to jump on their boat. She did it in one shift motion while the bandits were not paying attention, hiding behind the sail. When the boys came they would have them cornered on two fronts.

"Everyone come! Thieves!" Nami called out.

"Thieves? Are they bad people?" Luffy asked. Addy facepalmed.

"Who knows, those treasures were stolen in the first place," Usopp answered. Yeah, they were stolen from bandits, still stealing but from bad people.

"That's true," Zoro said.

"They're bad people!" Nami shouted.

"Then I'll give you these in exchange for the treasure," the purpled haired bandit dressed in green and yellow said. He tossed the guys rice balls and they reacted like they were the greatest things in the world.

"Oh, they are good people!" Luffy said filling his face with riceballs.

"They are not good!" Nami repeated.

The bandits were on their little boat now, and Addy was prepared to jump them when one of them said "All right, let's go, kid." Addy halted for a second. If there was a captive on board that changed things. He might get in the way if Addy started fighting. Addy could feel the boat start to move and took her chance.

She was about to leap down and attack them when Luffy called "Hey! I need some more rice balls…" Addy heard the sound of a bullet and she knew that all Hell was about to break loose.

Jumping out of her hiding spot she quickly grabbed all three bags back and jumped back onto the Merry before the tiny boat could sail too far away. She placed them by the cabin; Nami would put them somewhere safe and walked back towards the rest of the crew. The bandits called out in surprise but Luffy shout drowned them out.

"Hey Nami, they are bad people!" Luffy shouted with Zoro and Ussop staring at him.

"That's what I told you in the first place!" she shouted back.

"Hey, you shot me!" Luffy called back down to the tiny boat. "I was really surprised!"

"I-I'm sure I hit him," the pink-haired thief said. Apparently, the shock of Luffy still being alive made them forget all about Addy.

"Shoot him, shoot him!" The purple guy called out.

Going for a box they grabbed all the guns they could and started firing them rapidly at Luffy. Most of them missed but a few of them nicked the ship.

" _Ow_ ," Merry called out in pain.

"Captain," Addy yelled. "They are hurting Merry."

As soon as she said that Luffy walked down the stairs and jumped on the railing using his arm to stretch out and grab the small boat. The three bandits stopped shooting and looked at him in surprise.

"Gomu, Gomu no Rocket!" Luffy called out launching himself towards the boat.

"What the…?" the thieves called out. They looked at Luffy in shock as he sailed straight into their cabin where apparently the fourth person was located.

"What," they called out looking like they were about to burst into tears when the mast of the boat fell on top of them with a large crash. Addy felt sad for the poor thing, but that is the way life works. The four of them stood by the railing and watched as the thieves struggled to get up from under the mast, with various grunts and groans being heard. They finally managed when Luffy came out of the wreckage. The thieves backed away from Luffy as far as they could.

"Crap," Luffy said. "I jumped too far." He continued to brush off the leftover debris.

"Wh-What the hell is this guy?" one of the bandits asked. Honestly, that was a very good question. Addy was still trying to figure it out. "It's like his body's made of rubber or something."

"Rubber?" Luffy asked. "That's because I'm a rubber man."

"Rubber man?" the black-haired bandit wearing a ridiculous pink outfit asked.

"Don't tell me… he's a Devil Fruit user like El Drago?" The pink-haired one asked.

"No, of course not. He is just the child of a man who had an extreme love affair with a rubber band. Of course, he is a Devil Fruit user!" Addy exclaimed. Usopp, Zoro and Nami all got a chuckle out of that. At this point, the ridiculous reactions to Luffy's powers were becoming something of a norm. Honestly, she had forgotten how stupid people were about Devil Fruits sometimes. That would change once they reached the Grand Line though even there rubber was a strange power.

"El Drago? Who's that?" Luffy asked. Suddenly there was a groaning from amidst the rubble. The Straw Hats all spotted a black-haired boy making the sound. Luffy turned towards him. "What're you doing?"

"Hey Luffy, be careful!" Zoro called out. Turning to see what Zoro was pointing at they saw a ship approaching with a golden lion as the figurehead and a large man, about as large as the Bandit King was when he got really angry standing near it. From here Addy could tell that he was dark-skinned and had long bright red hair like a lion's mane. He was shiny to look at and was holding his hands above his head.

"20 beli says that's El Drago," Addy said.

"Don't be stupid," Nami said. "Only make bets where you can actually make money."

"El Drago," pink-haired called.

"That pose, don't tell me…" black-haired said.

"He's gonna use his devil powers," purple said finishing black's sentence.

"Interesting, wonder what his power is gonna be," Addy asked just as the three thieves jumped into the ocean. Whatever it was the three of them certainly feared it.

"What the?" Luffy asked still on the small boat.

"Hey, don't you think the guy on that ship looks strange?" Usopp asked.

"I don't even think he would scratch my top 50 list," Addy replied.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you need to get out more. Once you do he will be near the bottom of your list as well."

"I am sailing on the ocean towards the Grand Line. How much more out can I get?"

Suddenly the man started glowing yellow which Addy hoped was part of his Devil Fruit powers or there was something seriously wrong with him. He let out a high pitched scream and what could only be described as a laser beam of sound emitted from his mouth.

And it was heading straight for the middle between the two ships. The four of their mouths dropped open and various screams of shock and horror were emitted. As the laser passed them it formed waves that battered Merry and the smaller boat. Merry started to tip towards the side and Addy rushed inside to maintain the helm.

Grabbing it with both hands, she carefully maneuvered the ship so that it righted itself. In the back of her mind, she felt a slight itch and she knew that the small boat had sunk.

"You okay?" she asked.

" _Yes, I am fine. Zoro has Luffy and the rest of you are safely on board._ "

"Good, I figured he would go for Captain."

" _Where are they though? They might be in danger."_

"Captain and Zoro? They will be fine. It's us I am more worried about. We will find them eventually." Addy laughed. "Knowing them they have probably found food and are stuffing themselves."

"Who are you talking to?"Usopp asked. Addy whirled towards him surprised. Giving a small angry kick to the helm.

" _That was uncalled for_."

She answered Usopp, "Merry, I was talking to Merry."

"Ah," he said. "Sometimes I do that as well. It feels like she is actually listening, you know?"

"Completely."

" _You know that you are going to have to tell them eventually._ "

"Addy," Nami said coming into the room with them. "I want you to guide Merry so that it is side by side the massive one."

"Sure," Addy replied. When Luffy or Zoro was not on board Nami was queen. "Why though?"

"I am going to steal their treasure in revenge for them taking ours."

"But Nami… we got ours back."

"Doesn't matter it's the principle of the thing."

Addy and Usopp looked at each other and sighed. After coming up with a signal that would alert them for when they needed to pick up Nami, they quickly moved to the other ship, allowed her to jump off, and moved away so that they would not notice anything.

"Steal some food too," Usopp said right before they left her on the ship. She gave thumbs up and climbed up the rope ladder disappearing on the deck of the ship.

"Well it's only the two of us and as you're the newest member that leaves me in charge," Usopp said.

" _We are approaching an island,"_ Merry said.

"Usopp can you check to see if we are near any islands. Best bet that if there is one then that is where that large ship is heading as well," she asked.

"What makes you think that there are any…"

"Just do it."

Usopp scurried off and not even a minute had gone by before he called out. "There is an island. How?"

"What does it look like?"

"It looks like an island. There is a giant mountain shaped like a cylinder but that's the only noticeable feature from here."

'Okay,' Addy thought she could work with that. Guiding Merry towards the island, she docked her on a rocky shore, essentially beached her since neither her nor Usopp could actually lift the anchor.

"Okay, here is the plan," Usopp said. "We are going to hide onshore as barrels so when the other ship comes we can ambush them."

"That's the dumbest plan I ever heard. Why don't we stay here and ambush them when they try to explore Merry?"

"Because then… they might actually see us."

"You want to hide don't you?"

"Of course I do, did you see the guy. He can emit sound lasers… SOUND LASERS."

"So, what makes you think that hiding on the beach will be any safer than hiding on the ship?"

  
"Here they will look through everything, there they will ignore a solitary barrel."

Addy rolled her eyes. "Fine you can hide in a barrel and I will stay here." Usopp carried a barrel and walked towards the shore. Addy wondered if she should bother telling him that the ship was perfectly hidden, but even then he probably would not believe her. Watching him through a pair of binoculars it wasn't long until he was captured. Addy could not make out what he was saying but whatever it was it seemed to have appeased the pirates, or whoever they were and they started walking off.

"Well now I guess it's time to reunite with Nami," she said.

" _Good luck,"_ Merry said. " _Come back safe_."

"I will Merry, I always will."


	15. All the Gold in the World Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have enjoyed writing this immensely. I actually like the first movie a lot. It's not the best one but it's certainly not the worst. We will get to that one eventually. Anyway please review and let me know what you like or what I can improve on.

Addy started walking towards the other ship, it was anchored in the sea but that would not be a problem for her. Walking over the rocks on the other hand. That was a bit of a problem. Eventually, she made it to the sandy beach and took one of the three boats that the pirate crew left there. She could see Nami waving her hands at her from the ship.

Nami lowered a rope ladder down for her and she climbed up.

"Any treasure?" Addy asked.

"Some but I will look through more thoroughly later," she said "Merry safe?"

"She is as safe as she can be with all her crew members not on board."

Nami shook her head. "Why was Usopp in a barrel?"

"You don't want to know."

Addy looked around the ship, apparently, everyone had left. Which Addy said would have been dumb if they weren't doing the exact same thing with Merry. Gazing around she spotted a tiny boat a bit farther up the coast. Going to the edge of the railing she could barely make out Luffy and Zoro and some guy standing over them arguing. It almost looked like they were tied together.

"Is that…" she began to ask but Nami shushed her.

"Ignore them. Those idiots can take care of themselves." Addy shrugged and turned away. "Besides we need to follow Usopp. He is actually in trouble."

It was his own fault but Addy realized that she was right. After delivering the supplies and the treasure they gathered back to Merry, the two of them started following Usopp and his kidnappers which wasn't that hard considering the noise that they were making. It even covered up the sounds that Nami and Addy were making tramping through the woods, of crunching leaves and broken branches.

From what Addy could gather of the conversation, they were looking for Woonan's treasure. Apparently, he collected a lot of gold or something and had stored it here, and now they were following a map to the treasure. Regular old pirate stuff.

After walking up one of the many hills on the island they spotted a large statue of a whale. It was just sitting here in a field with nothing surrounding it. The pirates were surprised to see it and went on about east and west before pointing to a building and deciding that is where the treasure was. Woonan must not have been that great of a pirate if he chose such an obvious place to hide his treasure. On Addy's list of top places to hide buried treasure that would have been near the bottom.

Keeping hidden behind the trees Addy and Nami managed to follow the pirate gang.

"Hurry up a keep walking," pink hair said to Usopp keeping a tight grip on his arm

"I got it already," Usopp responded looking more angry than terrified.

Nami sighed but kept on following them. Addy was starting to wonder if she cared more about Usopp or the treasure that they might find.

"I'm pretty sure that gold is somewhere around that castle we just saw," pink hair said. "The problem is where in that castle."

"No problem, this guy knows, right?" black-haired said. Oh Usopp, what trouble did you get yourself into?

Now he looked scared though he soon turned angry. "Of course I know, I was close friends with Woonan," he boasted.

"What, with Woonan?"

"That's right! If you dare think of doing anything to me, Woonan's crew won't take it lying down." Addy needed to give Usopp lessons one when to keep his mouth shut. Like right now. At least threaten him with Luffy since is actually on the island. Tied up and being held hostage by someone but at least on the island.

Naturally, his kidnappers started laughing at him, which was better than killing him.

"Woonan's crew is no longer a part of this world," El Drago said.

"What? What does that mean?" Usopp asked. It means they killed his crew, you idiot. Usopp really did need to get out more.

"It means we took care of them already, with our own hands" pink-haired said. Addy figured that Woonan's crew must have been pretty old and weak considering this group looked like they couldn't take care of a bunch of infants.

"What did you say," Usopp asked. They had all stopped walking at this point and Addy and Nami were hiding behind a tree trying not to draw attention to themselves. It gave Addy a closer look at the crew. Most of them were indistinguishable from one another so Addy filed them under her minions category. There was El Drago and another dark-skinned, tall guy carrying a large sword and wearing what looked like a poncho.

"The last guy we killed had the map," purple hair said. "The map shows the island where Woonan's gold lies."

"Since they're not here anymore, it's only natural for us to take the gold," pink hair spouted. Well technically they weren't wrong, they were behaving exactly like pirates should. However, now Addy wanted to see this gold for herself. Perhaps she could make some nice trinkets with it once she picks up a decent jewelers kit. Heck, she wasn't at Nami level but she did like shiny things, though she preferred anything blue or silver to gold.

"It's not us," El Drago said. His crew looked surprised. "The gold is mine!" He held up his hand and Addy could see that his nails were shining like gold.

"That's right, the gold belongs to El Drago," his crew said to him as if trying to calm him down. "We all know it."

Usopp using some of the brains he does have tried walking away while all their backs were turned. He was heading towards Nami and Addy but the tall guy in the poncho spotted him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Trying to escape?" one of the pirates asked him. Do not lead them here, Addy thought.

"No… I need to go to the toilet. Holding it in your bladder's not a good thing to do." Usopp was looking really nervous now. His lies were wearing thin.

"This guy's definitely suspicious," another one of the pirates said. You only figured that out now?

"Do you really know where the gold is?" they questioned Usopp. He was looking more and more nervous by the second.

"Come on, guys, do I look like someone who'd lie? I'm a very trustworthy person." Addy would have started laughing but she did not want to give her position away.

"Really?" the pink-haired guy asked. They might have found the dumbest pirates in the world. It was fascinating to watch.

"Of course, that goes without saying. I've never told a single lie ever since I was born." Usopp looked like he was planning something. Addy hoped he would do it fast because these pirates would catch on eventually and she did not want to fight these people when the two big guys were with them. At least not until she picked more of the guys off. So far she had managed to sneak up and take out four and they had not even noticed.

"El Drago," one of the scouting party who had gone ahead called. "What should we do? The road ahead is blocked!"

Addy maneuvered herself to see what he was pointing at, careful to not give away her position. It looked like a rockslide had occurred and indeed it blocked the path up towards the castle. The pirates started complaining.

"Don't worry," El Drago said tossing some coins to the big man behind him who was apparently named Gorashi.

He looked excited and told the others to get out of his way. Drawing his large sword that he kept holstered on his back Addy wondered what he was going to do. Apparently, it was cut rock slide in half, which created a massive crater in the ground. Addy could hear the rocks break apart, turned into dust with only one sword strike. Nami, her, and Usopp all looked shocked.

"That thing was a piece of cake for Gorashi," El Drago said and then they continued walking up the path towards the castle.

For a brief moment, Addy wondered what Luffy and Zoro were doing. They were probably hopelessly lost. Which was a shame because they could really use them right now.

They soon made it to the castle. It stood past a standard archway and up a flight of stairs. Maneuvering so that they were in front of the pirates, her and Nami hid in some bushes. If they jumped up right now they would land in front of the arch. Addy could see an opening leading into the inside. The castle proper was three stone towers, each one large then the next standing on a central chamber. Decorated with blue triangles and pink outlines it was an interesting piece of architecture to be sure and that was the highest compliment Addy could give it.

"Okay, where's the gold?" El Drago asked. Now Usopp was really in trouble. "Where…"

"My stomach growls," Usopp cried out going what looked like a crazed dance move. "It growls." Maybe he just broke and no has no idea what he saying. "My stomach goes pa pi pup e po!" Now he was moving like an absolute maniac though it did the job of distracting everyone. Perhaps that was the point. Suddenly he stopped and he turned towards the pirates in the blink of an eye, "That's how it goes."

"What's that?" they all shouted at him. Addy was wondering the exact same thing.

"So you really don't know," pink-haired said.

"What should we do?" purple-haired asked.

"Kill him," El Drago stated. Now was her cue. Pink hair and purple hair were approach Usopp and he crouched and covered his head. Addy was going to jump out an attack but Nami beat her first.

"Hey, Kamesuke!" she called out. Addy confused, stepped out right beside her. They were standing under the stone archway. Addy tried to look intimidating but that was rather hard when you looked like a beanstalk and your weapon was a whip. Intimidation was not her strong suit. She would kill for Zoro at this moment. "You betrayed me!" Well, this was going in a different direction than expected.

"Who are you, people?" El Drago asked.

"I am Josephine and this is Alexandra. We are the granddaughters of the Great Gold Pirate, Woonan! Kamesuke, you told them, didn't you? That the gold is hidden under this arch."

"Under this arch?" El Drago asked.

Usopp suddenly got a grin on his face. Addy hoped that these two would not drag it out much further. They were already in over their heads. "Lady Josephine, Lady Alexandra, what should we do now?" Usopp cried out. The pirates were looking surprised. "If you continue to dig and dig for three days straight, you'll find the gold." Did these two forget that they were fighting a guy with sound laser powers? Addy was sure that those three days would take about three seconds for him. "Of course I would never tell you this…" Usopp was genuinely crying. He was really selling it and then he covered his mouth and pretended he said too much. Maybe they could escape out of this after all. Nami looked worried though which isn't a good sign. However, once the pirates bought it she looked much happier. Now it was time to make a break for it.

"10 seconds is enough," El Drago said. He lifted his arms up and started glowing yellow again, his minions running away from him as fast as they could. Usopp took off towards them shouting to run. Addy grabbed the two of them and managed to get them out of the way fast enough so that they barely missed the laser coming at them. He continued blasting and Addy suspected that soon there would be nothing but rubble.

"This sound technique… The Scream-Scream Fruit!" Nami said. Well, at least she knew what kind of crazy power he had. Only question was how to defeat it.

"So it's a Devil Fruit?" Ussop asked.

"What else would it be?" Addy asked. "The world is crazy, but not that crazy that people are born with the power to shoot sound out of their mouths."

"They say it has the power to transform sound into the power of destruction," Nami said. "The rumors were true."

"Well it's certainly doing that," Addy said looking around at the rubble forming around them.

"At this rate, Woonan's castle will be destroyed," Usopp replied.

"Who was the one that said the gold was under there?" Nami asked.

"It was you," Ussop said.

"Does it really matter right now?" Addy asked. "If we don't do something soon we are going to get blasted apart by sound waves.

El Drago was laughing, "If I blow everything up, the gold will eventually appear."

The noise of the explosions was immense as the rock was being blasted apart. Dust flew into the air getting into everything. Addy could just make out what was in front of her.

Suddenly she heard something even louder than the crumbling rock. Luffy screaming Shut up.

"Shut up lion," he said. As the dust cleared Addy could see he was standing in front of El Drago with Zoro tied to his back. What have those morons been up to? "My ears hurt." Think about how the rest of us feel. Nami, Addy and Usopp watched them, wary of the chaos that might come out.

"Lion?" El Drago said somewhat surprised.

"Sorry, you're actually a cat," Luffy responded.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Me? I'm Luffy. The man who will become the Pirate King." Luffy turned around quickly so that Zoro was now facing El Drago. "This guy is Zoro."

"Yo," Zoro said not taking the situation seriously at all.

"Woonan!" Luffy called out. "You there? Answer if you are there."

"What are you talking about," El Drago laughed. "That guy died a long time ago."

"You don't know that until you see him. Even if there is one person that thinks he is alive then he may still be alive."

"What kind of nonsense are you babbling about?"

"Hey, why are they chained together like that?" Usopp asked.

"You just noticed?" Addy stated. "We should probably always have one of us keep an eye on them so they don't do anything too monumentally insane. "

"Way easier said than done," Nami said.

Out of nowhere a boy came running up and knocked Luffy and Zoro over. "Move aside," he said. Addy had officially lost track of what was going on. Who was this kid? He looked like the child from the boat earlier. "Woonan's gold. I will protect it." He was holding a stick directly in front of him as some sort of weapon though his legs were trembling. Addy had to give the boy some credit, he was brave at least. Though usually when you combined bravery with stupidity you should not expect to have a very long life span.

"Hey, hey," El Drago muttered.

"On this island lies the precious gold which Woonan risked his life to get. I won't let evil men like you do as you please. Leave this island at once."

El Drago looked at the buy for a second before picking up the stick between two fingers and lifting the boy up in the air as well.

"Do you want to die that badly?" El Drago asked before throwing the boy up into the air. Addy could see El Drago throw his arm up in an attempt to slash at the boy. Addy moved, whip in hand but Zoro beat her there. Addy heard the clash of metal against metal so she wrapped the whip around the boy so that it pulled him towards her. He landed safely in her arms.

"Who are you?" he asked. He started to struggle so she put him down.

"One of the people who just saved your life," Addy said. "You should be grateful."

She turned back to the battle. Zoro was now facing El Drago with one sword in his mouth. Luffy was useless tied up and so was Zoro to some extent. Addy moved towards them ready to attack if necessary.

El Drago tried to punch them but they jumped out of the way to where Addy and the boy were standing.

"Don't fight here," Addy yelled at them.

"Sorry," Luffy said. Right as El Drago tried to attack them again though Luffy and Zoro dodged and were now under a nearby stone bridge.

The fight was about as pointless as it could get. El Drago could not hit the two of them but Zoro could not hit him either.

"What's wrong?" El Drago asked mocking them. He started laughing at them.

Zoro was saying something but she could not quite catch it. It's an issue when you wield a sword in your mouth. He tried to attack El Drago but Luffy foot was stuck on the cliff for some reason, Addy couldn't exactly make it out.

"Oh no," she said. Suddenly Luffy and Zoro were launched into the cliff at an amazing velocity which also happened to pick up her and the boy as well. They were flying in the air at rapid speed. Damn Luffy and his stupid powers. Addy could not see or hear anything, the roar of Wind blocked out everything, including hopefully her own screams. She felt herself hit something and was sent flying in another direction. Pain laced up the side which got smashed. That would leave a nasty bruise. Hopefully, nothing was broken.

Addy became less worried about the injury and more about the ground that she was quickly approaching. Using what momentum she could she managed to flip herself around so that she landed on her legs in a crouched position. She felt the impact throughout her bones but at least nothing was broken. She hoped. Looking around she saw that Luffy, Zoro and the boy were not too far away. Thankfully Luffy took the brunt of the fall. Addy was not sure how the kid was doing.


	16. All the Gold in the World Part 3

Walking towards them Addy could tell they were in pain. She placed her hands on Zoro and he didn't reject the contact, though that was most likely because he was trying to hide how much pain he was in.

"You two alright?" she asked. Zoro grumbled which she assumed was a yes and Luffy was smooshed into the ground so he couldn't exactly talk. Addy looked up and saw that the boy managed to get up onto his knees. That was a good sign.

"Luffy," Usopp called. "Zoro." Addy turned and saw the two of them running up the hill. Addy only then looked around her surroundings and saw that they were right by the whale again.

"What, what on earth happened," the boy asked. Good, he was talking.

"For crying out loud, what a bother," Nami said. She looked at Addy. "You alright?"

"Considering that I almost became a part of this hill, yeah I am fine," she responded.

Nami leaned down and started working on the lock around the chains. Usopp was taking care of the boy. Right now all Addy wanted to do was take a nice long nap, preferably in gold at this moment.

Once Nami got the chains off of them Zoro got up.

"We're saved," he mumbled stretching out his limbs.

Luffy sat up as well and faced Nami, "Hey, Nami," he asked. "Can I borrow some money?"

"Why?" she asked back. Addy wondered if they had any money that wasn't treasure. They were going to have to convert it into Beli soon.

"They didn't pay it," the boy said now sitting up.

"What?" Addy asked. Her and Nami turned to face the boy, she should really learn his name.

"Why don't you just pretend not to remember?" the boy said. "It's just oden." Oh, so that is what happened. Luffy and Zoro probably cleared out an entire oden store, couldn't pay, and ended up being tied up.

"Who's the boy?" Nami asked.

"Tobio," Luffy answered. Well, at least she had a name now. Addy watched as the boy ran across the field.

She glanced towards Usopp. "How did you find us?"

"Well due to my amazing tracker skills developed after years of training we…"

"You saw us crash into the hill didn't you?"

"….yeah."

All of them walked over to the boy who was staring at what used to be a castle. It was completely destroyed, nothing more than rubble at this point.

"I guess the gold is under all that rubble," Usopp said. Addy nodded in agreement. Shame really, they could have used it. You can never have enough treasure.

"What?" Tobio asked. "Are you after the gold too?"

"No, that's not what I mean." Usopp held his hands up defensively. That would have been the saddest fight in the world. "The gold belongs to Woonan. If he's still alive."

"He is still alive."

"The gold isn't there," Nami said. "Neither is Woonan."

Addy turned to face her, Unable to hide the curiosity on her face. Of course, Woonan wasn't there but the gold…

"How do you know?" Zoro asked. The question was on the tip of Addy's tongue as well.

"Can't you tell? That castle doesn't have a trace of anyone living there." Nami unfolded what seemed to be a map. "It was a decoy." She didn't… "Woonan probably somewhere else."

"When did you get that?" Addy asked her pointing towards the map.

"That's the treasure map," Usopp said looking excited.

"Treasure map?" Zoro asked.

"Oh yeah, this island apparently has a massive stockpile of gold or something," Addy told him. He hummed in acknowledgment.

Nami laid the map on the ground so that they could all take a good look at it. "Right, this is the legendary map left behind by one of Woonan companions. I pickpocketed it while we were traveling through the woods." Addy whistled, that took some skill. Nami beamed at her before grabbing a matchbox out of her bag and lit up one of the matches, the fire flickering slightly.

"What are you doing?" Ussop asked.

"Just watch," she replied. "If my instincts are right, then there must be…

"Scorching?" Zoro asked.

"That's right," Nami said. "It's a pretty simple trick. Look, something is showing up." All of them drew even closer to the map, excited for what it was about to reveal.

"Th…this is…" Ussop stuttered.

However, all of their excitement vanished when the map burst into flames and immediately turned into ash. Well, that was a bit of a problem. All of them stood there with their mouths dropped.

"Nami!" Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp yelled at her simultaneously. Addy just shook her head. Honestly, they should have expected this. They did just light an old piece of paper on fire after all.

Nami got up a walked towards the edge of the cliff, raising her arm in the air her fist clenched. "Now, let's head for the Grand Line," she shouted.

"Don't change the subject," Usopp yelled back. He seemed to collapse in on himself, either out of exhaustion or disappointment. "What are we going to do without a map?"

"The only clue about Woonan is gone," Zoro said.

"Well. Was there something written on that map?" Luffy asked.

"Umm… I think it said," Usopp muttered walking towards the whale. So there was some hope after all. "The treasure sleeps, look south of the hill. If the whale faces west, the tail points to the east."

"Eh really?" Nami asked.

"Woonan castle is too the east," Usopp said disappointment laced in his voice.

"Okay but the tail isn't," Addy said.

They all took a look at the whale and sure enough the tail was turned so it was pointing in a different direction.

"AHHHH, it's not pointing to the east," Ussop shouted. "That means the end of it is…" They all ran over to see where the whale's tail was pointing. A tall cylinder of rock next to a pointed spire stood directly in their view. Each of them looked surprised. "That.." Ussop said his voice trailing.

"Oh this is going to be fun," Addy said. They made their way down the hill and through the forest trying to get to the mountain as quickly as possible. Last thing any of them wanted was to be stuck here after dark.

They were actually making a good pace despite Tobio also coming along. At some point in order to hurry things along Luffy picked him up and was carrying him.

"Captain," she said. Luffy turned to look at her. Right now it was her in front with him. Zoro was in the back making sure that Nami and Usopp kept up.

"Addy everything going to be fine," he said. "You worry too much." He patted her head to comfort her.

"Right… well that puts all my worries at ease." Funny enough it did, Addy was feeling lighter like something was lifted off of her. "You're really good with kids."

Luffy let out a laugh. "Kids are easy."

"For you maybe." Perhaps it was because of his child-like nature. Or maybe it was his magic ability to make everyone like him. It certainly worked on her.

"What your dream?"

"What?" she asked surprised by the question.

"Dream? You know…"

"Yes, I know what a dream is, it's just…" Addy had not thought about it in a long time. That fell along the wayside with everything else.

"I don't…. I think we are here."

"Woah." Woah indeed. They both looked up at the massive stone pillar in front of them. Addy could barely make out a trail heading up but it would be tough going. When the others caught up they also stood in shock and amazement.

"We should probably pair up if we are going to make it to the top," Addy said.

"What's your idea?" Luffy asked. The others were looking at her for guidance as well.

"Luffy you should probably take Tobio and go out in front. If he falls then your most likely to catch him and if you fall you're also the only one who could probably survive. Usopp and I…" She saw a flash of what looked like disappointment on Zoro's face but in a second it was gone. "Usopp and I should be next and then finally Zoro and Nami. Sound good Captain?"

He gave her a smile and nodded. It was an easy start at first but the higher they got up the more Wind buffeted them. Addy could feel the coldness of Wind seep into her. Ice and snow she could handle but this was something else. All of them were basically clinging to the walls of the cliff, standing on what little room they had. How Woonan got gold up here was beyond her. Right now they could barely get themselves up.

"Don't get blown away," Usopp called out after another rather vicious blast of Wind started up.

"If we climb up this cliff, we'll definitely see Woonan's…" Tobio said the rest of the sentence lost in Wind. Addy saw out of the glance in her eye that Zoro helped Nami up the cliff, which worried her for a second but everything seemed fine.

Suddenly Tobio slipped when reaching out. Luffy was already on the other side but Addy managed to catch him.

"Be careful," she said holding him in her arms.

"I guess it's too hard for the kid," Zoro said. Addy did not want to admit that he was right. The kid was fighting his hardest.

"No, it isn't," Tobio said. "If I quit now. I won't become Woonan crewman!"

He started struggling and Addy gripped him tighter. "Don't do that or we will both fall."

"Hey, I found a good place for us to rest," Luffy called out. Thank Ocean. Addy placed Tobio down and they continued walking to the shelter Luffy found. It was a cave carved into the side of the cliff. Large enough for all of them to fit. What was strange however was that an old man was already in there.

"Grandpa?" Tobio said. Well, that brought up more questions than answers. Like how in the world an old man managed to make it.

"Why are you guys here?" Grandpa asked.

"We should be asking you that," Addy said making her way into the cave giving the others enough room to maneuver. "But to answer your question we found or more accurately stole this treasure map…"

"I see, the treasure map…" At this point, everyone was settled into the cave though it was a tight fit. Wind died down as Addy could hear the seagulls outside.

"What are you doing here old man?" Luffy asked.

"Burying treasure at the highest place has always been his way of doing things…" Grandpa said. "On this island, this is the only place he would do it."

"Grandpa?" Tobio said his eyes wide. "You knew Woonan?"

"Have you met him before?" Nami asked.

"He and I were like brothers," Grandpa started. Oh no, not story time anything but storytime. Addy cared slightly more than she did about Gaimon but that did not mean she needed to know this man's backstory. "grew up in the same village." As Addy resigned herself to her fate she leaned back. Expecting to hit her head on the rock wall she was surprised to hit something softer. Addy looked up and saw Zoro looking down at her. She was leaning against his legs. Smiling in thanks she turned to face Grandpa. She felt him place his hands on her shoulders and she moved in closer, grateful for the warmth.

They were an attentive audience, making all the right sounds at the right times. Addy was actually getting sort of invested. The conflicting dreams, the fight, falling off the cliff.

"And… did you die?" Luffy asked. Perhaps too invested.

"He still alive you idiot," Usopp said.

"By chance, a ship passed nearby at that time," Grandpa continued. "It was the first miracle in the village."

"What, you didn't die," Luffy said sounding almost disappointed.

"NO SHIT," they all yelled at him. Luffy could be really dumb sometimes.

"When I woke up three days after the incident, Woonan had already left the village. And after that we never saw each other again," Grandpa finished.

"I didn't know that," Tobio said. "Grandpa knew…"

"The Woonan I remember started changing from that time. That stubborn, obstinate man who wouldn't try my oden. But now I think he would definitely eat it. This pot of oden which I put my life into." Addy looked and saw a black pot tied to his head with a red ribbon. So that is why he is up here, just in case Woonan is alive. It was all rather sad.

"A pot of oden which you've put your life into," Luffy said.

"Now, let's not waste our time being here," Grandpa said. "Or the oden will get cold." Addy thought it was slightly too late for that, but if Woonan was alive they would figure out some way to warm it up.

"Okay, let's go."

The rest of them got up and followed Luffy. It wasn't much farther until they reached the top. An old torn-up stone shack met them with what used to be a silo. It looked like it had been in disrepair for years. Still, they hurried up, each of them curious as to what could be inside. Luffy got there first and opened the wooden door. It squeaked open revealing…

"Nothing here," Luffy said. Addy felt the waves of disappointment through her.

"No way," Nami said running through a doorway with no door. "There is nothing here either."

"Did Woonan really live here?" Tobio asked.

"There aren't any chairs or tables," Zoro said.

"There isn't much of anything," Addy said. All she could hear besides their voices was Wind echoing through the empty chambers.

"There is only a common fireplace," Zoro pointed out.

"A nicely decorated fireplace," Addy stated walking towards it along with Zoro. It was surrounded by green marble with vines etched in. It was massive, much too large to be necessary. When Zoro got to it, he pushed it with one hand and it slide across the floor with ease. "Impressive."

Zoro grinned at her and rubbed the back of his head. "It was nothing."

"For you please, it was less than nothing." Was she actually flirting with him? What was wrong with her? She should probably stop listening to Merry's advice about relationships. She was a ship after all. And was he flirting back?

"That's amazing, how did you find that?" Luffy asked his mouth wide. Usopp was standing there equally shocked.

"Any idiot should be able to find this," Zoro yelled at them.

"Hey look, you can go down from there," Usopp pointed out. Sure enough, there was a set of stairs leading down into who knows where.

"Woonan should be down there," Tobio said.

"Along with his mountain of gold," Usopp added in.


End file.
